I just got back from spending several hours going through potential choir music at my church. Rehearsals start up again in a couple of weeks, and I haven’t yet decided what we’ll be singing.

So there I was, singing merrily away as I plucked out harmonies and accompaniments on the piano, when my pastor showed up looking puzzled. He walked slowly up through the entire church peering at me as I sat at the piano. “Oh, it’s you!” he finally realized, laughing at himself for not recognizing me. I made some crack about keeping my scarf on indoors (we’re in the negative temps here, and I didn’t want to turn on the whole church heating system just so I could pick out choir music) only to realize that I’d also left my hat on all evening. So here I was, mostly obscured by the piano, and then swathed in a hat and scarf. No wonder he couldn’t figure out if I was someone he knew or just some singing, piano-playing tramp off the street.

Anyway, we got to talking, which should have been pleasant except that just then my left eye started to prick and burn. Now, you should know that my eyes have acted up before… in my previous church. I’d get to choir practice, get everyone warmed up, start waving my arms in time with the music, and tears would start rolling down my cheeks. (My choir members had great fun wondering if these were tears of joy or of distress at their rendition of the music at hand.)

As he chattered away I found myself losing the thread of the conversation. Would he think he’d moved me to tears? Would he think he’d interrupted me at an emotional moment? There’s just no easy way to explain away sudden onslaught tears.

Eventually he left, and then I left, escaping into the allergen-free outdoors. I wonder if he believed my story about allergies…