I’m a pesco-vegetarian. So for the past 16 years I haven’t eaten any meat other than fish. That’s right, no turkey on Thanksgiving, no BBQ steak in the summer, and no visit to KFC to try the infamous Double Down. But on Saturday I had to eat crow.
Earlier in the week I called my sister just to chat. I asked how she was, listened for a minute or two, and replied with a spontaneous well-intended remark. She normally loves my spontaneity. We share a similar sense of humour and on a good day, she thinks my impulsive comments are witty. On a brilliant day, she thinks I’m hysterical. But on this day, she wasn’t laughing.
Everyone knows that to tell a good joke, timing is key. And an insensitive comment spoken at the wrong moment is like an angry wasp — it can sting many times.
And once you say something, you just can’t take it back.
So what did I do? Apologize profusely? Beg for my sister’s forgiveness? No, I became defensive. (This makes things worse). And our phone call quickly ended with two abrupt good-byes.
If you ‘eat crow’ it means you have to admit that you were wrong about something. I knew I was wrong. I felt guilty. She deserved an apology but it wasn’t going to be enough to just say: “I’m sorry”.
She was out-of-town on business, so for the next few days I thought about why I was sorry. My comment was critical. And my choice of timing made an otherwise insensitive remark even cruel. But the thing I felt most apologetic about, was hurting someone I love.
On Saturday, I typed a note with talking points so that I would remember all the things I wanted to say. I took a deep breath and dialed the phone. It rang. She answered and I began with: “I’ve called to apologize.”
I admitted I was wrong. I ate crow and it was tough at first, but my sister was receptive, and that made it easier. I think she was as relieved to hear my heartfelt apology as I was to say it. After it was over, we briefly chatted about other things, and this time our call ended in our usual way: “bye, love you”. When I hung up the phone, I felt like everything was right again.
‘Eating crow’ is not something I’m particularly proud of, but making things right, well that’s ‘something to crow about’.
Cheekytree 
You always crack me up…but I love that you have enough in you to eat the bird sometimes! (and yes I can attest that at Thanksgiving she doesn’t eat turkey…only the mashed potatoes).
PS – love the wing shot….would look great on a dress 🙂
Thanks Elizabeth! I can’t wait to design you a dress. Bring it on!
This a heartfelt apology for anytime I might have been insensitive..if not outright wrong !! It isn’t easy to say you’re sorry,”I was wrong”..but it sure makes you a better person to acknowledge it to the right person.GOOD FOR YOU.
Thanks Diana. We all say or do things we eventually regret.
When you are as witty and quick as you are, sooner or later, you’re gonna piss someone off. Otherwise you’d be as dull as a door knob and not able to create these kick ass designs. Good jokes need timing, but so does an apology. Tell me we haven’t all been there before. Love that you made a list of things to say when apologizing … HIL-arious. Can you BE more organized??
Love Love the colours and patterns on this Eating Crow design. Hitchcock keeps popping into my head.
Thanks for the “kick ass designs” comment Jai. I had so much fun creating the Eating Crow design for this post. Thanks for noticing.