There have been a lot of great sounds that I’ve heard throughout my life.

Jimmy Stewart, in It’s A Wonderful Life, said “Do you know what the three most exciting sounds in the world are? Anchor chains, plane motors, and train whistles.” Of course, his uncle said, “Breakfast is served, lunch is served, dinner is served.”

I like that uncle…

For me, there have been several. From the jingle of my first set of car keys, to my wife saying “I do”, to the first cry of each of my children being born, I’ve heard a lot of incredible sounds.

And someday, I hope to hear “well done, good and faithful servant.”

But there is one sound that makes it to close to the top of the list for me.

It’s the sound of any of my kids laughing.

There’s just something about that sound that warms my heart. It doesn’t matter if it’s my oldest daughters laughing about something on their own, or my older son laughing because of something he see on TV. It could be my two or four year old laughing because I’m being goofy or tickling them. Or even our baby boy, cooing and smiling, which is as far as he can go right now.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a light chuckle or a deep belly laugh, like only young children can do.

Great memories are made when laughter is present.

If I want to write today off as a successful day, one of the ways I can do that is by making opportunities for my kids to laugh.

That sounds like a pretty good goal for today.

As an added benefit, kids’ laughter is contagious. You might end up laughing as well.

Go make your kids laugh.

Be deliberate, Dad!

When is the last time you heard your kids laugh? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.