a blog a day DAY 2 (OK lets see how long I can keep this up!)

Ah, it was another cold cold snowy sleety day here in Brighton.  I spent the morning at Funplex, which is a kind of special hell for grown ups, though the smalls seem to enjoy it pretty much. I think everyone there was gritting their teeth and wishing we were all out in the sunshine in a park or on a beach or some such warm natural environment instead.  Even the kids, if they had stopped running and shouting might have felt this too. 

Its getting to be a little dismal this cold cold grey sleety weather.  Everyone is getting a teeny bit grinchy.  And with 19 days of school holiday.  I guess Funplex itself was at least making a gain from it.  If it had been sunny, it would have been deserted.

Luckily I had managed to persuade a few other parents to bring their offspring along too, so it wasn't so bad.  I met some new folk and got to know some others better.  I am practicing listening at the moment.  I kind of invented this motto for myself yesterday.  SLOW DOWN and THINK MORE.  Maybe I should have put LISTEN in there.  I am trying to shut up rabbiting on, and really concentrate on asking good questions and listening really well to the answers. 

I am also trying very hard not to do the YES BUT thing.  Instead to respond with a more positive YES AND.  This is more at home where I am less conscious and more apt to jump in with habitual reactions to stuff.  A little listening rule, which is to consciously WAIT for 15 seconds before responding, is helping to bring a little consciousness into my responses, as in - during that 15 seconds I can rephrase a YEAH BUT into a YES AND.  At least this is the plan, and it is what I am trying out at the moment. 

Its a work in progress....... nipping habits and changing them isn't easy.  I will say that this listening mallarky makes for very interesting conversation.  Its hard to think of good questions, but really cool listening to the answers.