Conversation Master or Disaster?
My son just started at a new high school. As he knows no one, his motivational-speaker mom provided this brilliant advice: “I bet there are a lot of new kids. Just say hello and introduce yourself. Ask them about themselves and before you know it, you’ve started a conversation and maybe made a new friend.” Easy breezy. He’s a great kid. He’s got this!
Is Compassion Out of Fashion?
As a seasoned traveler, I pride myself on getting through airport security like a pro — especially at DFW, my home airport. Imagine my chagrin to find TSA had installed a new inspection system and nobody called me!
Much like European airports, you approach a “station,” put your items in a bin, then push the bin to a conveyor that moves it through x-ray. If you’re lucky, your bin continues to the exit area without a hitch. FREEDOM! YAY!
BUSY is a Four Letter Word
Is your life rocketing by? People often say (when I say ‘people,’ I mean me), “Where is time going?!?” Who the heck knows? Every time I turn around I get a “due for a dental visit” postcard. Wasn’t I just there last month? Six months seem to pass like six weeks. Are you with me on this? When a new season hits, it is always a surprise. Wasn’t it just Christmas? Valentine’s Day? July 4??
When NO PROBLEM is a Problem
The waiter screwed up our order. I tell him that it is okay, and he responds with, “No problem.” Ummm…it actually was a problem. Have you ever walked out of a store and said thank you and gotten the, “No problem” response? Did I miss a problem? When did everyone born after 1985 decide that “No problem” was interchangeable with “You’re welcome”?
Reservations About Humor?
When people think about humor, it usually relates to telling jokes, or situations where you double over in laughter. To me it’s more than that – it’s about having (and making) fun in the ordinary and often dull routines in everyday life.