As I finished up this evening’s dishes, my 12-year-old son Jacob entered the kitchen with a message.

“Mom needs you.” Gosh, thanks for all of the details.

Knowing better than to ask for lots of additional information from the preteen, I responded with the basics. “Where is she?”

Beginning to walk away, he responded, “She’s in the garage…” and then with a perfectly timed emphasis and a pretend expression of concern, he added, “with a bucket and a chain.” Then he bounded off to places unknown.

Meeting my lovely bride in the garage, I saw her working on some hanging baskets. That’s when I smiled.

My son had pulled off a perfectly timed and cleverly spontaneous joke. A beautiful piece of whit.  A boy, who made me proud.  To borrow from Maz Kanata in Star Wars: Episode VII, if you live long enough, you see the same sense of humor in different people, and in my boy I saw myself.  Live long and prosper, young smarty pants.