Today, Al of Nova Notes talked about how much he enjoys reading about other journallers embarrasing moments. Well, it looks like this afternoon I'll be able to indulge him.

Eric and I had to attend two church services. It's the Sunday after All Saints, and the rector wanted a quartet to sing the gospel instead of just reading it himself as usual. That, coupled with the fact that today's liturgy involved the reading of the names of parishoners who died this year, made for a very long day. Our voices were exhausted, and the emotionally-laden sermon tired our minds. Not to mention the doubled amount of "stand, sit, stand,kneel, sit, stand..."

By the time we reached the end of the second service, I just wanted to be swiftly on my way. The choir, which sits in a small section at the front of the church, stood and began to recess, singing...ummm...well, "Number 618," for lack of memory. (Hey, even Eric doesn't remember, and he claimed it was one of his favorites.) I was, as usual, tripping and stumbling over the hem of my robe; it's in serious need of repair, and is being maintained at present by five straight pins and several cleverly tied knots. As I made my way between the miniature pews on which we sit, my sleeve caught on the front one.

I tugged to free it.

I guess I had momentarily forgotten the fact that the pews were lighter than regular pews, and they are not anchored to the floor. In a distant part of my mind, I noticed that something felt odd about the way in which my sleeve was released, and looked to the side to see the pew attempting to genuflect, and instead falling flat on its face.

BOOM.

The congregation faltered in the hymn. I covered my mouth and floundered. Should I pick it up? My recessional-mate grabbed my arm and pulled me down the nave, laughing. I couldn't sing; I was mumbling a "Da da da" kind of lyric. At the back of the church, I finished the hymn with the rest of the choir. The rector came down the nave then, walked over to me...and, grinning, made the sign of the cross over me.

Eric noticed none of it. That made me feel a little better.

Eric got a raise! The funny thing was, he wasn't informed that he was getting one. He simply noticed that his paycheck was for a higher amount, and then examined the pay rate. I guess it slipped his boss's mind.