Back in the day, it often happened that a woman would outlive her husband. When this happened, the woman would become a widow, often called an “old widow woman” by people in her community. It was really unusual for these women to start dating, and if she did happen to date or remarry, it raised eyebrows. My grandmother outlived my grandfather by about 30 years, in fact. I never imagined she would date or remarry, and indeed, she didn’t. But if she had, I like to think I’d have supported it once I got over my surprise. These days, it’s more common for widows and widowers to remarry, and that’s a good thing. Why should anyone live alone if they don’t want to, just for the purpose of satisfying societal norms? No way. The joke below totally runs with this concept, and the grandson wins the day.
A 5-year-old boy went to visit his grandmother one day. Playing with his toys in her bedroom while grandma was dusting, he looked up and said, ‘Grandma, how come you don’t have a boyfriend now that Grandpa went to heaven?’
Grandma replied, ‘Honey, my TV is my boyfriend. I can sit in my bedroom and watch it all day long. The religious programs make me feel good and the comedies make me laugh. I’m happy with my TV as my boyfriend.’
Grandma turned on the TV, and the reception was terrible. She started adjusting the knobs, trying to get the picture in focus. Frustrated, she started hitting the backside of the TV hoping to fix the problem.
The little boy heard the doorbell ring, so he hurried to open the door, and there stood Grandma’s minister. The minister said, ‘Hello son, is your Grandma home?’
The little boy replied, ‘Yeah, she’s in the bedroom bangin’ her boyfriend.’
The minister fainted.
