A few months ago my husband, Mr. C, received a coupon in the mail for a free hearing test at a nearby clinic. We are suckers for coupons for almost anything free, so he made an appointment. Not wanting to go alone, he generously made one for me, too.
:0)
We went together and took our tests, which included being hooked up to all sorts of contraptions and even being put in an isolation chamber. They had tests to determine levels of ability in hearing as well as listening. As all women know there's an important distinction between the two.
:0)
It turned out that my husband's hearing was very good, it was his listening that was less than perfect. On the other hand, I had quite a bit of scarring in both ears from childhood ear infections and a bad case of the measles at 18, which had taken some of the hearing in my left ear. Anyway, my results were that while my hearing wasn't as good as his, my listening skills were much better than his. Perfect, in fact.
Is anyone surprised? Is anyone with a husband, son or significant male in their lives surprised? We women have known for years that men don't listen as well as we do.
Ha! I've had scientific proof ever since we took that test. And, yes, I mention it to my husband on ocassion. Can you blame me?
Don't get me wrong, though. I love the man to bits. He's my one-and-only and my very best friend. (I just tend to repeat myself when I talk to him, sometimes!) I wouldn't change him for the world!
:0)
In my last post I mentioned that I might be looking into working with children with autism. A few years ago I had looked into the possibility, but wasn't able to follow through because I ended up needing a total hysterectomy, which meant I had to be very careful with all lifting and sudden movements for close to a year. During that time, an acquaintance and I talked about how we both were interested in this kind of work.
Well, this lovely woman and I don't really see each other very often, but just the other day I received a call from her. She had just started working with autistic children and the organization she works for is looking for more therapists. And she thought of me! So, of course, I contacted them right away and now I have an interview!
I am approaching this with an open heart, and if it is what I'm meant to do, it will happen. What a privilege it would be to help an autistic child reach his/her potential in life by being a small part of an early intervention of this horrible affliction.
One breezy day when we were all outside, she looked up at me and said, very wisely, "Mama, when the wind goes through the trees it always sounds like the trees are whispering something to me."
Isn't that something? Maybe they were whispering to her. I wish we could all hold on to that innocence of childhood, where everything is magical and anything is possible.
An open heart is a good thing. I hope you listen to the whispers in your life. I know I'm going to try.
