Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

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Friday, February 21, 2014

Unin'habit'ed Nun


Sisters
Also a Sister








In our church, everyone is addressed either as 'Brother' or 'Sister'.
It gives a fun, family feel to the congregation.
And to the whole 'attending church' scenario.
It was something I was raised with.
Women my Mom's age were Sisters.
Men were Brothers.
Life was simple.
Moving forward twenty years.
Still attending church.
Still addressing each other as either Brother or Sister.
But now, there was a new generation, calling me Sister.
I should point out, here, that when you work in the children's organization, or Primary, you instantly gain rock-star status if your class members meet you outside of church.
Hence, you can be wandering in the mall and a young voice will scream out, "Mom, look! It's Sister Tolley!"
And I do mean scream.
Back to my story . . .
One day, I was shopping with my children, plus a few.
Because who wants to go shopping with just your family?
A cry suddenly rattled the rafters of the local Safeway.
"Sister Tolley! I didn't know you shopped here, too! Look! Look! It's Sister Tolley!"
And then a chorus of "Hi, Sister Tolley!" "Sister Tolley, look what I'm wearing!" And the all-important, "Sister Tolley, look what I can do!"
It was adorable.
I oohed and aahed over their clothes and accomplishments and our two groups separated, intent once more on whatever it was that had originally brought us into the store.
One of the boys who had come along for the amazing experience of shopping with two parents and ten children turned to my son and whispered, loudly, "Wow! I didn't know your Mom was a nun!"
Okay. Not something you hear every day.
Or ever.

14 comments:

  1. How do the words Mom and Nun appearing together in the same sentence not alert, even a child, to the preposterousness of the situation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Someone needs to have a talk with that boy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Too funny! Obviously, that little guy is Roman Catholic, and probably very confused after meeting you. At our church, the female pastors are called "Mother". I have a really hard time calling someone "mother" when they are clearly younger than me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is a toughie! It's a bit like having a boss that's younger than you and having to call them Mr. or Mrs.! Yikes!

      Delete
  4. Oh, funny! Thanks for sharing this.

    Reminds me of the joke ...
    A priest says to his congregation, "I think every couple should have three children: one to go into business, one to go into education, and one for the church."
    The next day, a pregnant member of the congregation spots him in the supermarket and yells, "Father, this one is yours!"

    I might have that a little wrong. Thank you, Reader's Digest.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have heard it said that we're all God's children...so hello sister!
    Love Jen's joke up there^

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello back, sister! I'm sharing that joke. It's too good not to . . .

      Delete
  6. LOL, I've been called a lot of things, but "Nun" ain't one of 'em. Great story.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well I can't say I've ever been called a NUN but some of my redneck buddies have ocassionaly coined the term: MONK. I even saw a T-shirt with: Monk of the Month. I'm sure that in guy terminology that has a different connotation than NUN.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I expect you're right. Hmmm . . . what could it be . . .?

      Delete

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