Losing my touch

I've always loved kids and spending time with them. I never found it hard to find something to talk about. Since I actually had kids though I guess I look at them differently. I don't know. I feel so artificial when I talk to kids sometimes. Two recent experiences made me think about this.

I'm going to HVSS on friday mornings for Halloween Committee meetings. At the first meeting a couple of students strolled in and sat down. Of course I was delighted, especially because they were older kids and I was hoping some of them would get into this so in my enthusiasm I totally put one of them on the spot asking him if he had any ideas. Not the social crime of the century, I know, but at the same time I should have been happy that someone even wanted to see what was going on.

The next week I decided to play it cool. One girl came in and started talking and wanted to share ideas but I got kind of distracted and ended up practically ignoring her. Oof! In my own defense she did ramble on a bit.

Really, I think I just need to brush up on my social skills in general. It's so tempting to look for those "teachable moments" but then I think about my cousin who always had a piece of advice. If you said you liked to read she told you to major in English and become a teacher. She never asked what you liked to read. Ray and I were talking about this, how hard it is to just listen. And to respond in a way that keeps the conversation going.