Starburst and Heat

My hunny bun-unny has fixed the heater in the van [it was low on water, which kept the heated water from going into the heating coil, which made it cold... I learned that this morning when he told me All About Our Van's Heater, to which I listened raptly because I love him and I am PRACTICING good listening skills. It occurred to me [as I was reading a book called "True Balance," by Sonia Choquette] that I need to work on my listening skills.

I tend to only half listen to people. I'm usually keeping an eye on the kids, or they are interrupting in one way or another, or I'm thinking about what I want to say next, or I'm distracted by the TV, computer, radio, or other conversation... you get the idea.

I am finding that, no matter what people say to the contrary, you really can't listen to some one and be doing fifteen other things. And people deserve to be listened to. Which includes my family [it's REALLY hard to listen to my kids' sprawling tales of their adventures playing Zelda the Windwaker on GameCube... but I shall endure from now on, no matter how hard it is!! Also, if I don't listen to them now, while they're little, there is a good chance that when they're older, they'll stop talking to me, and that is SO not where I want to go in my relationship with them].

So, I am making a commitment, right here and now, to really listen to people when they talk, and not just with my ears, but with my heart as well.