A Comfortable Silence
Why is it that the some verbose people can be maddeningly terse when the there is real information to be shared? Some people have a gift for being able to talk for hours on end without getting tired or imparting any information. These people feel the need to generate conversation from the moment they see you until the time you depart company. Yet, when the situation arises where brevity is appropriate, these can people absolutely shine.
I have a friend who can yammer incessantly. I mean this person may have read about a ‘comfortable silence’, but they have never experienced one. I mean this person can talk. Of course, I am once again talking about my wife.
When I come home from work, she tells me about her work day. Then she tells me about our child’s day. Then I get to hear any news about the extended family. This critical data can go on for a solid hour or more! All I want to do is change out of my work clothes and use the restroom. I am not allowed to make more than the briefest of comments during these sessions. I might say “Oh?” or perhaps, “Wow!” and the ever popular, “uh-huh”. Then, if I don’t have anywhere to be, my wife will tell me about what she saw on TV that day. All of this is in excruciating detail. If we’re still near each other I’ll start getting repeats of previous day’s conversations. It’s like a ‘Best of’ type of program, as if she’s re-running highlights of earlier diatribes. She just can’t handle her own silence.
To be fair, I don’t really have all that much too say. Witness the silence on this blog. Has it been a month since I last posted? I don’t like to talk about my job when I get home from work. I prefer to “let it age” until the next day. When I get home I just want to vegetate. Truthfully, I suppose I enjoy the chatter. It helps me decompress. It makes me feel needed to some extent. It creates a warm well-lighted place for me. It makes me feel at home.
Yet today, this very morning, when it really matters, I get pithiness! I received the following voice message from my wife as soon as I stepped off the train in downtown ending my commute to work. And I quote, “I have been in an accident. I was hit from behind really hard.”. What!?!?
I have a friend who can yammer incessantly. I mean this person may have read about a ‘comfortable silence’, but they have never experienced one. I mean this person can talk. Of course, I am once again talking about my wife.
When I come home from work, she tells me about her work day. Then she tells me about our child’s day. Then I get to hear any news about the extended family. This critical data can go on for a solid hour or more! All I want to do is change out of my work clothes and use the restroom. I am not allowed to make more than the briefest of comments during these sessions. I might say “Oh?” or perhaps, “Wow!” and the ever popular, “uh-huh”. Then, if I don’t have anywhere to be, my wife will tell me about what she saw on TV that day. All of this is in excruciating detail. If we’re still near each other I’ll start getting repeats of previous day’s conversations. It’s like a ‘Best of’ type of program, as if she’s re-running highlights of earlier diatribes. She just can’t handle her own silence.
To be fair, I don’t really have all that much too say. Witness the silence on this blog. Has it been a month since I last posted? I don’t like to talk about my job when I get home from work. I prefer to “let it age” until the next day. When I get home I just want to vegetate. Truthfully, I suppose I enjoy the chatter. It helps me decompress. It makes me feel needed to some extent. It creates a warm well-lighted place for me. It makes me feel at home.
Yet today, this very morning, when it really matters, I get pithiness! I received the following voice message from my wife as soon as I stepped off the train in downtown ending my commute to work. And I quote, “I have been in an accident. I was hit from behind really hard.
1 Comments:
Whoa!!! Tell us more. I hope she is OK!
Post a Comment
<< Home