Communication...

I have always known I was not a good communicator. I don't always listen to the words people are saying to me. I may hear them talking but I am not actually listening. I also make assumptions which is a terrible thing to do. And I fill in the blanks sometimes when I am trying to remember details from an event or conversation.

However, I have learned to not always believe what I hear or to at least take some things with a grain of salt (although I have never understood that phrase...I know it is meant to be skeptic about what I hear).

I have also learned that sometimes when I say things to people they misunderstand, take things the wrong way, misquote, and out and out lie about what I said.

With all this knowledge I have learned to not worry so much in life about what people think. I know what I know to be true and I sleep better at night with that knowledge.

I hope as a mother I can teach Dotty to listen (and I mean really listen) more than she talks, to go to the source if she needs to know the truth, and to only worry about the things she can change...and sometimes what people "believe to be true" is a hard thing to change...and may not even be worth the effort.

I love talking to Dotty. I love to hear her little voice, to listen to her sing, and to hear her thoughts about the world as she sees it. I wish all our conversations could be easy and innocent. I know they won't always be this way though.

I plan to enjoy these times and to try and teach her that she can always talk to me...that I will always listen...and that I will always love her...no matter what.