The Last Stretch

We are approximately four days away from home.  I'm ready to be home, for sure. Can't wait.   In the next couple of days, we will be seeing, and staying with friends.  Hopefully, we will be good guests.

In light of some recent experiences, I can say I know something about how not to be a good host.  And it is not as if this is the first or only time to have such an experience----far from it.

Here is the basic rule I would like to share with others who are willing to hear it:

 In any social interaction,  do not talk exclusively about yourself, without including or asking about others.

I never fail to be amazed, and sometimes disappointed whenever that happens.  It seems so obvious,  so simple,  so natural to say:  "And tell me about you."  "What's going on in your life?"  "What have you been up to lately?"  "How is your family?"

Communicating is a shared experience.  It is not one person talking about themselves and the others listening.

Other than that, it has simply been an Iowa day.  And there is nothing more that I can say.

July 2013