Today I finally decided I needed to get the invitations for Don-Mike's wedding mailed out, there are only so many days left. Don-Mike & I went down this morning & picked up most of his temple clothing. He & Amber will be going to the temple on Friday.
Back in January one of the clerks at the post office told me there were new mother-in-law stamps this year. It's the Chinese year of the dragon. We laughed. Don-Mike & Amber had just got engaged & I said when it came time to send out the invitations, I'd come in & buy some.
Eldon (Wilcox) was not at the post office today. I told the 2 ladies behind the counter I wanted to buy some mother-in-law (MIL) stamps. One clerk picked right up on it & quietly explained to the other clerk as she got a sheet out. I was surprised when she told me $5.40 for the sheet of stamps because there are only 12 stamps on a sheet. Stamps are 45 cents now. I can remember when they cost just pennies.
I asked them to tell Eldon I had bought some mother-in-law stamps. They said it will be a long time before they see him again. He is out with some health problems. I said I'd send him a get well card & let him know I got the MIL stamps.
It is so hard to say anything without hurting feelings. I don't know what his problem is. If he is battling cancer or some form of debilitating disease, ... If he will soon recuperate & be back to work ... or not. I referred to the Scott Krippayne song about God sometimes calming the storm & sometimes calming His child.
Sunday was a day of those uncomfortable situations. A missionary is home from his mission early. What do you say? A hug, only to discover he is painfully thin. A couple in the ward just lost a baby, born way too early , not even 24 weeks, yet she lived an hour and a half. I tried expressing my sympathy to the father & felt like I should have kept my mouth shut. An interview with the Relief Society president sitting in the back of the chapel with one of my ladies sitting in the foyer, probably hearing everything I said.
We went to dinner at the Texas Road House on Sunday for Nick's birthday. Don-Mike said one of his co-workers passed judgement on him yesterday at work. "You went out to dinner on Sunday & you're getting married in the temple?" Don-Mike said he felt like telling him we had an ox in the mire. There is no other time we can go out to dinner as a family. I told him in the scriptures it is not an ox stuck in a mire, it is an ass in a pit (Luke 14:5).
So, I just googled the phrase, "ox in a mire," & found a blog entry that I really like titled When Is Your Ox in the Mire? Here are a couple of wonderful comebacks.
So, the next time you are caught in a questionable Sunday activity, just say, “Sorry, bishop. My ass was in a pit. This was just one of those “ass in a pit” situations.”
