DON"T Talk to the HAND! (CAW!)

My good friend Monica , whom I almost never see ”in-her-beautiful-and-vibrant-person”, stopped by work today for a brief visit, cleverly disguised as a sales call. We were dishing about the point in conversation where folks tune people out and just STOP LISTENING! She recanted a funny story about her brother-in-law. One day at the beach, his wife kept nagging him about something senseless, over and over and over. He began to “caw” like a seagull, shrilling “Caw, Caw!”, indicating that her words had lost all meaning to him and were falling on deaf ears. Now, Monica says, the running joke between her and her mother, is that when either of them stops listening OR wants to stop listening to the other, they trill “Caw, Caw!” Laughter obviously ensues, but not without getting the meaning across in a light and humorous way.

My end of our conversation related to my teenage son, and how (like most teens) he doesn’t LISTEN to me. I know there are times that I sound like “blah, blah, blah” to him. I recognize the glazed look, the hurry to escape… I might as well SAVE MY BREATH! My words fall down like wise drops of rain, yet he has his umbrella out and his poncho on! He’s thinking something like , “I don’t want to hear this” or “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” As a mom, though, I LOVE IT when the real world intervenes and comes back later to show him I was right! Nature really is the best teacher.

Sometimes, being heard or NOT, is more a matter of TIMING. Do you know folks who have a tendency to let down their own deluge, when you just aren’t in a frame-of-mind to LISTEN? You don’t WANT it to sound like “blah, blah, blah”, and you hope it doesn’t show on your face… but what YOU ARE REALLY THINKING is “I’ve GOT to go pee!” or “My feet hurt!” or “I don’t have TIME for this right NOW!” or “You sound like blah-blah-blah! ”Their lips are moving, but honestly, they aren’t saying ANYTHING! My husband wants to talk first thing when I get home from work, and I JUST cannot LISTEN TIL I’VE CHANGED MY CLOTHES, TAKEN OFF MY JEWELRY and PUT IN A HAIR CLIP! Then, I am ALL EARS!

Then, there is my friend Lil at work, who works with Mr. Edmund, our 86 year old Chairman of the Board. They have had many years working together, teasing each other, perfecting their Vaudeville Act. Lil is a “straight-talker”. She’s going to “tell it like it is”, and NEVER give anyone a break , unless she thinks they deserve it. Mr. E, according to Lil, does NOT usually qualify! Mr. E doesn’t like to wear his hearing aid, and misses half of anyone’s conversation with him. You have to repeat yourself over and over, getting louder each time, with him saying “Huh?” Lil has taken to going up to talk to him, moving her lips as IF she is talking, but saying nothing, not a single word. There is ABSOLUTE SILENCE on her part! It may sound cruel, but it’s not exactly like she is picking on the elderly. Mr. E is wise to her shenanigans, and he continues with “Huh? Huh?”, as if he is trying to hear her, but it’s the FUNNIEST THING to watch them SPAR over the hearing aid issue, without even discussing it!
 

Next time, someone is talking but you’re NOT listening…talking, and you don’t WANT to listen… or talking, and you’re not SURE if they’re saying ANYTHING worth listening to, don’t “talk to the hand.” Flap your wings and go “Caw! Caw!” 

I DEE- DOUBLE- DOG- DARE YOU!