These things in me I despise

It's somewhat surprising to see what problems rise to the surface when you're tired.

One of the things that I usually try to do when interacting with people is to respond to "How are you doing?" queries with one back at them. At the very least, it shows some courtesy that the conversation is not a one-way street, and often I've found that people sometimes just want to talk. While I'm not generally a good conversationalist, I occasionally pride myself on being a good listener, and so this will often give others the opportunity to share some joys or vent some frustrations.

Tonight, though, I got home from work late again and was rather tired when I got a phone call from someone to discuss logistics for this Sunday's worship service. After we finished the "business" side of things, the other person asked how I was doing. Being tired and mentally fried, I made some half-hearted jokes about work, looking forward to the upcoming long weekend, then we exchanged pleasantries and hung up. After a few moments, I realized that in my tiredness, I hadn't thought to ask how the other person was doing; hadn't reciprocated the little extension of care that was handed to me. I don't think this is the first time in the last few months, either.

Sometimes it's the little things that get to you.