I’VE ALWAYS WONDERED

“Mom,” my ever-wondering daughter wanted to know, “why do the adults in Charlie Brown sound like ‘WAW, waw, WAW, waw, WAW, waw’?”

“That’s a good question, honey. I don’t know why.” So I started wondering about it myself, in the midst of doing laundry and cleaning the kitchen. And I concluded, maybe it is just this simple: when the adults speak, the children just aren’t listening.

That led me to do some pondering. When my family members are speaking to me, am I truly listening? Or am I hearing ‘WAW, waw, WAW, waw, WAW, waw’ coming from them, because I am not choosing to give them the full attention that they deserve?

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING, CHARLIE BROWN!

From now on, I am going to try to give my full attention to my family members – stopping what I am doing, turning myself in their direction, making eye contact. I want to truly listen and respond thoughtfully. Maybe if I set the example of fully listening, when it is my turn to speak and theirs to listen, they won’t be hearing, “WAW, waw, WAW, waw, WAW, waw . . .” from me.