Why Humor Belongs in Grief
Grief is unpredictable. It hits when you expect it—and completely levels you when you don’t. I’ve lost my mother, grandfather, auntie, grandmother, and my uncle who was more like a brother—all within about five years. The people who raised me and shaped my world from the time I was born? Gone.
After living through all that loss, I’ve learned something that goes against the grain of traditional sympathy cards: Humor absolutely belongs in grief. Especially when you’re the one going through it.
Grief Is Already Ridiculous
No one tells you how absurd grieving can be—like crying in your car in a grocery store parking lot, then laughing because the song on the radio reminds you that your uncle could fart in tune with it.
Humor shakes us out of our grief—at least for a moment. It cuts through the sadness and gives us a breath. And if you ask me, that’s what funny sympathy cards are made for. They’re not disrespectful. They’re healing.
Funny Doesn’t Mean You’re Not Hurting
Some people think if you’re laughing, you’re not grieving “properly.” But humor in grief isn’t a mask. It’s a coping tool. You can miss someone with your whole heart—feel desperately empty—and still laugh at the fact that your frugal grandma hoarded 200 tubes of toothpaste from a store that went out of business in 1976.
That’s why I created Smartass Cards—to offer alternative sympathy cards that reflect real, messy, bittersweet human emotion. Not everyone wants “thoughts and prayers.” Sometimes you want someone to say: “Yeah, this sucks. And also—remember when your mom peed her pants from laughing too hard during board game night?”
Humor = Relief Between the Waves
Grief comes in waves. But in between those waves, there’s space to breathe. Funny cards for loss and other hard life moments give us that breath. They don’t erase the pain—they remind us we’re still here. Still human. Still connected.
Ever tried texting a friend a “thinking of you” message and had no clue what to say? While there’s ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with texting, “what’s up, jackass?” A funny card that says the hard thing in a soft way can bridge that gap. It’s a gesture of love that doesn’t need to be wrapped in clichés.
It Makes Grief Less Isolating
Let’s face it, people are scared of grief. It is such a crippling feeling. Grief doesn’t know how to show up at the right times. But when humor’s in the room, it gives them permission to join you. To sit beside you in the mess. To say, “I remember you.”
That’s why I believe funny sympathy cards don’t just help the griever. They help the village around them. It’s a shared language when words fail.
So yeah, grief is heavy, but it’s also unpredictable, chaotic, and with our cards — intentionally hilarious. And that’s okay. Humor doesn’t take away the pain. It makes space for the love that created it.
If you’re grieving or trying to support someone who is, or if you’re just trying to reach out to someone who is going through difficult times, don’t be afraid to laugh. And if you’re looking for a way to say the hard stuff in a real, human way, check out our line of funny sympathy & support cards. Because life’s too short for empty platitudes.
