39. Be Available When Someone Wants to Talk
I learned this when my children became teenagers. For the most part, when they reached those magical ages of the teen years, they talked on their schedules. They talked when they felt like it. They shared when they wanted to. And when I finally learned that, I also learned to be available in those times, to drop what I was doing and hang out to listen and converse. Because that’s when real conversation took place between us..
Interestingly I’ve learned it’s also true of other ages, so maybe even though I still think it is particularly true of teenagers, maybe it means that if I want to be helpful, if I want to be supportive, if I want to exchange talking and listening with someone, then perhaps I need to adjust my schedule or my list of things to do—and be available.
