Competence in communication does not come easily.   Ground rules, like rules of the road, are necessary to avoid crashing into one another when we try to communicate. – E. Douglas. 

Hmmm…

I guess the good thing today is I knew what to do, and I didn’t harm anything…including him.  – Donna 

I know he wants to help. Unfortunately, that he in my we is best at delegating, which is not what I needed this morning.  Besides that, we have a deal.  He takes care of the cars, I take care of the yard.  

This was the yard.

There was  a major irrigation leak that went under the walkway in the front.  Just to find it was a crapshoot.  It was a one cup of coffee and out the door at 6AM morning. It needed to be done. 

The repair was simple, in theory.   I had to dig out both sides of the walkway to find where the PVC piping housed the hose, and drag a new one through it.

The hard part was removing a few shrubs, cutting back tree roots that had consumed the tubing, and making sure new connecters were in place. I prayed the new one didn’t get hung up on anything. And finally,  I would add the spaghetti tubings back on.   

He hovered for a bit, and I knew it was coming. 

“I think you should…”

That was his first mistake.  

My head spun around three times.  

His second mistake and offer to help came pretty quickly. I handed him the shovel and went to refill my coffee cup. We both chuckled after he said: Alright, I hear you.

We survived, and after 3 hours the yard was back in place.  

I even took some time to set out some autumn decor.

We have been married a long time.  That kind of communication doesn’t  happen overnight.   We have had to learn a few things over the years.  We know very well, who we are and where we stand.  We have learned that the Love Languages and the Venus/Mars things are real.   

So..I do the yard, and he does the cars, in case you missed that first time around.  Because, after all, when it is his turn to play in the dirt, I keep my mouth.  

There are some people who could hear you speak a thousand words and still not understand you. And there are others who will understand without you uttering a sound.  – unknown

Wind Kisses, Donna

The inspiration for today’s post was twofold. Read my friend Marsha’s post here and send her some needed love. She is sweet, caring, motivational and…could use some “you got this” right about now. Second, it was a great place for my morning story to land.

On another note, I am someone who thinks the best form of communication is to listen. If you have ever met me, you know this is true. But on this day a few years ago, I was humbled, realizing the importance of exactly that, AND being in the right place at the right time.

Thank you for following along.