Sunday, January 22, 2006

Oops

I had what I would term a "mother-in-law scare" this past week (one of those cases where all the available clues lead to worst case scenario to the 12th power). I received a belated birthday package from my older son and his wife with a strange return address in his handwriting. No note inside… just a collection of assorted wonderful and thoughtful gifts (I always credit my daughter-in-law with the taste for these selections, even though I've been wrong about that in the past.) Call me sexist. I admit it. I believe that women (in general) have an inborn knack for choosing gifts. But I had sent her a birthday package earlier in the month and had had no response. So… address change, no note, no response to earlier emails, what the f*ck, over! I emailed them both. What's up? No response. Then I emailed her on her birthday and it bounced back… no such recipient. Uh oh. My son has bi-polar disorder. She has been a Godsend as far as helping him stay on his meds. They have split up in the past. I put two and two together and freaked. Sooooo. I played Jewel Quest for an hour on my computer while I revved up the courage to call them. I called her cel number, figuring she would be more likely to spill any beans. But my son answered. Hello. I heard her voice in the background too. (Huge sigh of relief as well as huge embarrassment over my once again jumping to totally inaccurate conclusions.) Do you suppose they'll forgive me since it was only because I care about them so much? Nah…

9 comments:

Sixtina87 said...

sry to say...but youre no ordinary nun are you??? i was really shocked by your entry...i know sisters who are widows who entered a convent...but they dont cuss let alone show it on the internet...such as saying... F*ck!!!! That shocked me greatly!!!

jsut kinda be careful on that you say!!!

Claire Joy said...

You are so right. I struggle with this need to swear to make emphatic points. (And I worked in two careers where four letter words were the cultural norm) I shall be more careful. What the heck over...

Anonymous said...

With no disrespect to sixtina87--I love how real you are, both in language and in emotional responses! So very glad to hear that all is well with your son & d-in-law! And if it makes you feel any better, I would have done the exact same thing! We can't help it--when we love, we love, and that's just the way it is!!! :)

ACey said...

If it were my son (who also has bipolar disorder) and I was getting the same non-response, I probably would have had some kind of subtle but intense grassroots dragnet in place by now. With that as my personal frame, I feel you used discernible restraint given how close to your heart they are ...

I have confronted the cussing conundrum myself a few times now, here in blogland. Although nobody has said anything directly, I've made ponderous choices based on having been asked in the past: why would a truly "good" buddhist resort to the f-word.

the best (and entirely buddhist) response I know is "because it's there" but that won't cut it for your situation or largest potential audience. Maybe it's a certain liberty of language you must revoke, along with more straightfoward vows?

I love your fearlessness most of all and won't annoy you by giving the quality any astrological reference points ;)

Sixtina87 said...

thanks for under standing...i have never heard a nun say F*ck or any other word along those lines...but one does hear those type of words come from a nuns mouth...they would be really shocked...i know i would!!!!

Anonymous said...

In defense of my thoughtful and concerned mother-in-law and in the words of Billy Joel, "We're only human ... ooh ooh ooh..."

Chillax! Anyone who really knows Sistah CJ knows that she isn't a sailor.

HeyJules said...

Doesn't bother me at all when you cuss to make a point. Sometimes it wakes me up to what I'm reading, you know?

If they won't let you cuss on your own blog, where can you cuss?

Anonymous said...

CJ was the best sailor I ever knew, so if you are offended, hit your delete key!

LutheranChik said...

A wise old English teacher of mine, speaking about another earthy four-letter word, noted, "If you're up to your knees in it, there's not much else you can call it." Sometimes it's all you can say.;-)