Oh, brother!!

I HATE to look dumb. Usually, if I think there's a chance of that happening, I just close my mouth and let it pass. You know, "better to be silent and thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt?" or something like that.

Well, let's just say I'm not always successful at stopping myself.

We have a group of families that began attending our church a few years ago when their congregation "died." They are all the same age and sit together, and I've come to love them all. Recently, one of the women had serious surgery, and I was discussing her case with a friend. She asked me how this lady was related to the others, and as I tried to clarify, my mouth revealed my ignorance.

It seems that, while I've known all these folks all this time, something very basic never dawned on me. The conversation went something like this: (names changed for privacy)

"Now, is she Joe's mother?" "No, she is Paul's and Bob's mother." Is that Bill's wife?" "No, her husband is deceased. You are thinking of Ron's wife." "Isn't HER name Sue?" (Now at this point, I should have just shut up, but....) "She is Ron's wife and Paul's mother."
"No, she is Sue. Joe's mother is Mary." "But I thought Ron's wife was Mary." THINK, Amy, THINK! "Her name IS Mary, but so is Joe's mother!" By now, we both have headaches, and I have come to the awful realization that, even after knowing these three ladies all this time, it NEVER - EVER dawned on me that two of the three had the same name.

Is that pitiful or what....