Mystery Solved

A decades-old rift in my family has finally been cleared up. Years of hurt, angry feelings because someone misheard what someone else was saying. Funny, sad, and unbelievable.

So the lesson, everyone, is clear the air. Don't let things fester! Give people a chance to explain.

And make an effort with people who seem slow to warm up to you. It could be that they haven't understood you. Perhaps literally.

And also, maybe if you find yourself at a wedding shower with the bride opening up a gift -- a beautiful peignoir -- and someone else commenting (with a smile) that it's so typical of the giver, "so full of venom", consider if that seems likely to have just been said.

Or whether the person might have said "so feminine".

Thirty-five years.