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.6. What do you want?
Jul. 15th, 2017 12:34 amApples and trees, man. One never falls far from the other. In this case, it's communication styles.
It's most noticeable with my brother. While he's relaxed over the years, there's still the overwhelming sense that he doesn't do small talk. If you're calling, you'd better know the reason, and state it succinctly. It was intimidating when I was younger, but now I realize that's pretty much how I roll, too.
Cut to this evening. P came home after listening to a friend's band play. He told me a bit about it, but eventually went to sulk in his room. I felt a moment of guilt about that, then realized he's the one who chose to sequester himself. I only stated the truth: that I wanted him to get to the point of his story. He was literally giving me a play by play of what the parking lot looked like (I KNOW what it looks like, because I go to that area a lot, which he knows), the exact path that he walked, the various people he saw. There was no point to him giving all of that detail to me. None. And he tends to talk like this, which is just exhausting. I have a short attention span, especially when something doesn't interest me. Do not spend 25 minutes (I timed him once, just to make sure I wasn't overreacting) giving me a breakdown of every last second. Get to the good stuff!
We went to the local boardwalk today. Bug wanted to go on a ride. I'm holding off on doing that again until next year. I used to think that the scariest thing about rollercoasters is the big drop off. Now I realize it's hearing a little voice next to you saying, "I think I'm going to throw up!" (He didn't, but it sounded like it was a very real possibility at the time.)
It's most noticeable with my brother. While he's relaxed over the years, there's still the overwhelming sense that he doesn't do small talk. If you're calling, you'd better know the reason, and state it succinctly. It was intimidating when I was younger, but now I realize that's pretty much how I roll, too.
Cut to this evening. P came home after listening to a friend's band play. He told me a bit about it, but eventually went to sulk in his room. I felt a moment of guilt about that, then realized he's the one who chose to sequester himself. I only stated the truth: that I wanted him to get to the point of his story. He was literally giving me a play by play of what the parking lot looked like (I KNOW what it looks like, because I go to that area a lot, which he knows), the exact path that he walked, the various people he saw. There was no point to him giving all of that detail to me. None. And he tends to talk like this, which is just exhausting. I have a short attention span, especially when something doesn't interest me. Do not spend 25 minutes (I timed him once, just to make sure I wasn't overreacting) giving me a breakdown of every last second. Get to the good stuff!
We went to the local boardwalk today. Bug wanted to go on a ride. I'm holding off on doing that again until next year. I used to think that the scariest thing about rollercoasters is the big drop off. Now I realize it's hearing a little voice next to you saying, "I think I'm going to throw up!" (He didn't, but it sounded like it was a very real possibility at the time.)
