I’m tired of making calls. I’ve run out of small talk and I’m overflowing with coffee and cakes. My stop today was with an extravagant hypochondriac, who took me on a tour of her liver, her pancreas and her upper intestinal tract. I was spared her bowels, thanks be to God, but we left her bladder reluctantly as time was running out, and we still had to cover her allergies. At least I wasn’t forced to contribute to the conversation.
~ Elizabeth Shannon in Up In the Park,
The Diary of the Wife of the American Ambassador to Ireland
Keep my mind free from the recital of enless details; give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing, and the love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others’ pains, but help me to endure them with patience.
~ 17th Century Nun’s Prayer, unknown source
A Living Pencil 
*I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others’ pains, but help me to endure them with patience.*Yes, Lord, please give me this type of patience. Amen
I am slowly learning to ask more than I say when with others.
I LOVE the quote from the Nun’s prayer. Too applicable.
Okay, so I have to tell you that I drove 2-1/2 hrs. w/ a lady whose 2 grown children have “Chronic Irregular Bowel Syndrome.” I won’t go further except to say that at the end of the weekend retreat (which we were on our way to), I heard her talking to someone else about it, so at least I knew it wasn’t me that made her feel called to share ALL the details. That makes me guard my tongue a lot more these days!
OOOOh AMEN, and tell me what to do with the friend who has called for ten years to tell me EVERYTHING. I know more about her body than I do mine!