The family’s trained singer, Jeanette joined the church choir’s rehearsal on Sunday morning, held convenient at our house. Mom loves opening her home to the choir for weekly rehearsals. She gets to welcome all the singers (all neighbors), to chat them up, to receive their hugs and cries of “Lucille! It’s so good to see you. You are so cute!” She especially loves not having to go anywhere for rehearsal. Before surgery, I had written an email to my siblings and children summarizing the complex repairs involved. At rehearsal, Mom waved to the choir director: “I want you to read this email from my son to the choir.” The condition of Mom’s first-born, her baby, her injured boy, weighed heavily on Mom’s mind, and she wanted everyone to know what had happened to me. Jeanette gently intervened, suggesting that the email had been intended for family, not the general public. But she summarized the surgery to placate everyone’s sincere, curious interest. I appreciated Jeanette walking the fine line between politeness and privacy, satisfying all concerned: mother, son, and choir.

(Image by Khoa Lê from Pixabay)