Day 308 ~ Attention Deficit

November 4, 2014

My Instead: To avoid any of the usual distractions, I went to "my spot" on Schmidt Lane to talk on the phone with Annette.

I am so bad. I admit it. I sometimes get distracted when I’m on the phone. The person on the other end of the line can usually tell when they do not have my undivided attention. My mom has complained for years about my attention deficit and my sister follows her as a close second.

And now I have a girlfriend who does NOT complain, but who quietly excuses herself and says that we can just talk later. There is no irritation in her voice…ever. But then I know. I’m distracted! She knows it by my voice that something else has my head turned. I can be tweaking a blog, watching TV, working on a project, cooking (but that doesn’t happen too often), or doing anyone of the various other tasks I take on in a day’s time.

But tonight would be different. As I was talking to her on the phone, I got in my car and drove. In less than five minutes, I was at my spot…the T on Schmidt Lane. This place on the map somehow draws me in for some unknown reason…so why not tonight! I thought that I would just sit there and talk to Annette…no TV, no laptop, no project, no chore, and the radio was off. The only distraction was my having to take a photo of the street sign for my blog. Then we talked. Our conversation was about distractions and the logistics of knowing when to call for just a brief chat and when we can engage in a long interaction.

After about a ten minute stop, I saw a car’s headlights coming down the road and decided I’d better move on. You never know what someone might think about a car sitting in the middle of a dark country road when most people are asleep or getting ready to bed down for the night.

I took the long way home so we could finish our conversation. We did some boundary setting so that we would not have trouble down the road (pardon the pun). It’s just a matter of mutual respect and sharing my time with Annette and not wasting hers in the process. And all it took was a trip to that country road to make me see the sign.