Reach Out, Fall In, Leave an Impact

Sometimes all it takes is a little piece of paper and a quote to provide just the *Wham!* over the head that you needed to get yourself motivated. Today, was my day to get hit over the head by the quote bug.

Communication is depositing part of yourself in another person. ~Anonymous

It hit me hard enough that even the basic morning tasks, like getting my coffee, went to the side burner. Used to my morning routine, HS had to remind me that I was in the cabinet to get my mug. "Thanks, darlin'. Mommy will be right back to reality once she rubs her head, puts on her big girl panties and says, geesh...I need to communicate better." I thought.

I've gotten worse about communicating over the years. The phone rings and I have to admit, sometimes I let it ring. Calling people back, writing letters or emails, or stopping by for a chat are infrequent. They used to be vital. What on Earth happened? I'm missing a key element of life: sharing.

I need to stop:

checking Facebook so frequently. That's not listening to my friends, that's reading about what's happening in their lives and not being their in person or over the phone to hear the excitement or sadness.

getting so bloody angry whenever HS has a bad day at school. It destroys the rest of the afternoon and pushes him away from talking about the little things.

holding on to grudges. It's not staying on the high road and only makes me feel worse about past events. Let it go. Listen to the words, "forgive me" and allow the forgiveness to flow.

being so forgetful. Paper is an excellent tool to remember to call to say, "how is your day? thanks for calling me earlier!"

saying yes to everything. Things that aren't important should be tabled to a later time. Too much of saying "yes" to every request has led to a decrease in the availability I once had just to talk to friends.

I need to:

call a friend out of the blue just to say, "what's going on?" and then listen more than being the main focal point with what I'm doing.

listen to HS without critiquing his every move.

be willing to listen to office "drama" without complaint or advising. I don't know the military, I'm just the spouse.

Skype with my friends and family more often. It's a double win: free and I can see the facial expressions as they talk.

I've set my goals. Communication is a two way street. It's time to reach out, fall in, and leave an impact on my friends and my family. My path had become very jarbled. Listening and speaking with others became more of an annoyance because I felt like I lacked the time and energy. Enough of waiting for the "perfect" amount of time to talk. There's never going to be enough time in the day...it only takes a second to call and say hello. I've begun to do some roadwork on the bumps and potholes in my ability to communicate. How about your side?