Sunday Evening Mailbag Call: Holding in the Laughter

Spent a weekend in the Northwoods being reminded that I am, in fact, not as young as I used to be. However, it also meant that, thanks to limited numbers of TVs and my own willingness to man the grill, I did not have to watch a second of the Northwestern football game.

And it is as such that I come to you, dear readers, with the request that you send us your Mailbag questions—we will, as always, compile them Tuesday night and answer them around Thursday-ish.

In the meantime, if you’d like to talk about something off-topic, tell me about a time you laughed inappropriately. That came for me tonight at Mass during the Eucharistic Prayer, as the kiddo—who does not like to sit still in any public situation and, at 13 months, can still get away with it—performed her usual acrobatics of wanting to be picked up, put down, given puffs, color on the handout hymn sheets, and so on. For some reason, tonight she was very friendly towards others, waving and hamming it up.

The priest reached the Institution and Consecration section: ”Giving thanks, [Jesus] took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, saying—”

“HIIIIIIIII!”

I had to pick her up and whisk her out of the church, my wife and I were shaking so hard with laughter. When I returned my wife had been visibly crying from laughing that hard.

Anyway. Questions. Go.