Put it off
Mitchell had been “away from home for eight years.” In spite of the fact that the man had a family, he hasn’t written a single “letter,” because he kept “putting it off.” It seemed that he hadn’t even considered a possibility of his relatives being worried about him. Eight years were a rather long period; his absence and lack of correspondence made his family believe that Mitchell was dead. The irony of the situation was that Mitchell found his relatives’ fussing over him annoying. The whole mess was absolutely his fault but he managed to blame someone else.
Promises, promises
People tend to give promises easily and then forget about them. Mitchell wasn’t an exception, for he did exactly the same. His unexpected returning home after eight years of absence shocked his family. They were so happy to see him safe and sound that the man started worrying about their sanity. To make sure that he wasn’t going to leave them anymore, they made him to swear “on the Bible.” However, Mitchell didn’t keep his promise. The irony of the situation is that vows – even on the Bible – can prevent anyone from breaking a promise. The funniest thing was that it was his relatives who got tired of him first.
Nothing lasts forever
As soon as happiness and excitement after Mitchell’s returning home died down, life went according to its usual route. It seemed as if he had never left. Later on, Mitchell’s parents realized that there was nothing for him there. He couldn’t “get any work to do” and the family started to “growl.” All in all, Mitchell “stopped at home for a week” and then left. The irony is that nothing lasts forever and even dearest people can get tired of each other.
