There have been studies that reveal that men use an average of three thousand words a day while women use an average of five thousand. All I can say is, there's must be a woman somewhere who isn't saying a word to make up for my five digit daily verbal barrage.
I've always had a bit of trouble keeping my mouth shut. My mom tells me that I've always been quite chatty, to the point of being afraid I would walk off with one of the nice strangers polite enough to listen to my endless yammering. As I got older, I did manage to curtail my incessant need to speak after being made aware (by fed up friends) that others had a right to chime in once in a while, too. My need to express myself and every feeling or opinion that I've ever had has gotten me in trouble more than I'd like to acknowledge. But it's never really stopped me. Until now.
My son has informed me that the reason he doesn't share more of his life with me is my "big mouth". He's afraid that I won't respect his privacy. He's afraid I'll reveal embarrassing confidences to my friends over lunch. And, you know what? He has every right to be afraid.
So, I've promised him I'll do better. I've promised him that I'm going to regain his trust and show him that I can keep his secrets. I've promised him that I'll stop myself before diving into any conversation that I know would embarrass him. Now I just have to do it.
No comments:
Post a Comment