When I was a little kid my friend's older sister was DFed and lived on her own. On one weekend I asked my mom if I could go over and visit my friend, but she said no. I asked her why and she told me it was because Jenny (Not her real name) was at my friend’s house visiting and because she was DFed I could not go and visit until she left.
I called my friend's house and his mom answered. I asked when Jenny would be leaving (yeah, sickening when I think back). She said that Jenny would be leaving "this afternoon" (It was around 12:00 at the time). I said, ok and hung up.
About an hour later I called again... his mother answered again... and I asked if she was still there. She said yes... but with a little bit of frustration in her voice.
I did this again about 45 minutes later... same thing... more frustration in her voice.
I did this again about 45 minutes later... again... same thing.... and I could tell she was getting very upset.
Oddly enough, at the time I could not understand why she would get upset at me... she, after all, was the one with the awful DFed person in her house. She is the one who said that Jenny would leave "this afternoon". In my mind that meant before "evening"... and it was getting to be around 4:00... Pretty well in to "evening" as far as I was concerned.
Thinking back I regret this exchange... it really was awful on my part, but as a JW I did not see it that way.
Years later my friend's mother got DFed... all I ever heard was that she was being a "Jezebel". I guess that means that she was thinking on her own and the elders did not like it. Sometimes I think back and hope that I may have had something to do with her opening her eyes. Her husband (anointed / elder) was DFed with her for defending her. He was reinstated a few years later, but she stayed DFed for many years. They divorced and went their separate ways.
She ended up joining the conspiracy theory crowd... NRA, guns, anti-government, new world order... the whole bit.
Then, all of a sudden... shortly after 9/11, guess what? She went back to the elders to be reinstated. Very sad... she was scared back into the bOrg.
Since then family will, from time to time, remind me that she returned after all those years... maybe I will too they say. Yeah right! When they say that it sounds like a cartoon super-villain saying: "Muahahaha! You can never escape! Muahahahaha!"
We will see. My money says that they will never see me again.
Every now and then I think back and regret that exchange… “Has she left yet?”