Homework: Do any or all or be inspired.
~Your best friend just called and said, through her tears, "I know you've had experience with_____. What did you do?" What would she be calling about? Answer her question in a note.
~Write about a time you made a presentation of some kind. Were you nervous? Excited? Prompt: "After I was introduced, I stood up and said_____"
~Remember someone who poured out their heart to you. How did you feel towards them after hearing their story? Were you sympathetic? Shocked? Disgusted? Understanding?
I think I must be a good listener, or at least, a sympathetic one. People's "stories" have always fascinated me, and fortunately I get to hear a lot of them.
I have always stayed and waited for my daughters during their lessons, and waiting involves a lot of sitting and knitting. Knitting needles must be the universal symbol for "Talk to me" since I have yet to sit in silence.
One woman and I were comparing divorce horror stories (not our own as we don't have any) when she decided to confide in me her own dramatic marriage. First, it made me very grateful for the wonderful man I married and second, it made me fearful that I might hear about her on the 6 o'clock news some night. And not in the hurt-her-kids-Susan-Smith sort of way but more in the her-husband-cut-her-into-tiny-pieces-ala-Lacy-Petersen sort of way.
Inside, I was aghast at the details of her dysfunctional marriage but outside I tried to remain supportive and encouraging. I suppose that's akin to telling a passenger on the Titanic that the water isn't all that cold. There are drugs, money, children with major medical issues, overwhelming debt, corporate espionage, mystery clients, theft, etc. involved. This one woman lives a life that sounds like the plot line to a daytime soap.
The funny thing is, nearly everyone there has a story that can compete.
