I'm a people watcher, and I find myself watching people everywhere I go. I usually just do a glance here or there unless I'm actually sitting down somewhere and able to take in my surroundings, and then I really study the people around me. This often happens when I'm on a date with N Payne, because I'm not consumed with watching my own children. I notice all sorts of things about folks around me but mainly I notice their expressions which in turn leads to eavesdropping. Yes I'm an eavesdropper. It started sort of unintentionally and still is for the most part, but if we are sitting near someone; and I can hear their conversation - then I listen. The first time I realized that I was eavesdropping was a long time ago before N Payne and I had babies. We were out to dinner enjoying a lovely meal, and while driving there we had heard that we were under a tornado watch/warning (I can never get those 2 straight). We didn't think much of it, because that happens often in Texas; and it usually results in an abundance of rain. So what better place to be when it's raining than enjoying a meal with your love. As we were eating, I could hear the rain hitting the roof of the restaurant extremely loud and hard; so I thought hmmmm maybe there's more to this than just rain. I started looking around the restaurant to see if anyone else was noticing this, N Payne always sort of brushes off my anxieties and nerves; so I hadn't even mentioned it to him YET. All of the sudden the lady next to us caught my attention. I could hear her on the phone talking, and I looked at her face. Her face was full of angst and concern, so then I LISTENED. She wasn't talking on the phone but waiting for someone to answer it. She was actually talking to the man she was with, I'm assuming it was her husband. She couldn't reach the babysitter; and she knew the kids would be scared in the storm. She was very upset as she continued to dial and wait for an answer. She kept reiterating to her husband that she was concerned about this storm and the fact that she couldn't reach the babysitter. By this time I was equally concerned for this family whom I never had or never would meet. I leaned over to N Payne and said something like do you hear what's going on over there? They can't reach their babysitter, and their kids are terrified of storms. He looked at me ever so puzzled, and asked what in the world I was talking about; so I told him again with my look and sound of concern. He looked at me with a startled look and a little bit of a confused look and said something like...are you listening to their conversation? I realized in a sort of surprised way that YES I am listening to their conversation, and I am worried about these children and worried for this mother. I was a little annoyed at N Payne for pointing out that I was eavesdropping and not being near as concerned as I about this family. The lady and gentleman left shortly thereafter, so I never knew what happened. Hence I became an official and self proclaimed eavesdropper (is that a word?). We ended up having quite a hail storm that night with a lot of damage done, and I always hoped those kids were not too frightened. As I've gotten older, I continue to eavesdrop; and it's sort of a joke with N Payne now. He's never surprised when I say something like....did you hear that those folks (over at the next table) are getting married? Isn't that fabulous? He usually just smiles and chuckles at me.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Eavesdropping
I'm a people watcher, and I find myself watching people everywhere I go. I usually just do a glance here or there unless I'm actually sitting down somewhere and able to take in my surroundings, and then I really study the people around me. This often happens when I'm on a date with N Payne, because I'm not consumed with watching my own children. I notice all sorts of things about folks around me but mainly I notice their expressions which in turn leads to eavesdropping. Yes I'm an eavesdropper. It started sort of unintentionally and still is for the most part, but if we are sitting near someone; and I can hear their conversation - then I listen. The first time I realized that I was eavesdropping was a long time ago before N Payne and I had babies. We were out to dinner enjoying a lovely meal, and while driving there we had heard that we were under a tornado watch/warning (I can never get those 2 straight). We didn't think much of it, because that happens often in Texas; and it usually results in an abundance of rain. So what better place to be when it's raining than enjoying a meal with your love. As we were eating, I could hear the rain hitting the roof of the restaurant extremely loud and hard; so I thought hmmmm maybe there's more to this than just rain. I started looking around the restaurant to see if anyone else was noticing this, N Payne always sort of brushes off my anxieties and nerves; so I hadn't even mentioned it to him YET. All of the sudden the lady next to us caught my attention. I could hear her on the phone talking, and I looked at her face. Her face was full of angst and concern, so then I LISTENED. She wasn't talking on the phone but waiting for someone to answer it. She was actually talking to the man she was with, I'm assuming it was her husband. She couldn't reach the babysitter; and she knew the kids would be scared in the storm. She was very upset as she continued to dial and wait for an answer. She kept reiterating to her husband that she was concerned about this storm and the fact that she couldn't reach the babysitter. By this time I was equally concerned for this family whom I never had or never would meet. I leaned over to N Payne and said something like do you hear what's going on over there? They can't reach their babysitter, and their kids are terrified of storms. He looked at me ever so puzzled, and asked what in the world I was talking about; so I told him again with my look and sound of concern. He looked at me with a startled look and a little bit of a confused look and said something like...are you listening to their conversation? I realized in a sort of surprised way that YES I am listening to their conversation, and I am worried about these children and worried for this mother. I was a little annoyed at N Payne for pointing out that I was eavesdropping and not being near as concerned as I about this family. The lady and gentleman left shortly thereafter, so I never knew what happened. Hence I became an official and self proclaimed eavesdropper (is that a word?). We ended up having quite a hail storm that night with a lot of damage done, and I always hoped those kids were not too frightened. As I've gotten older, I continue to eavesdrop; and it's sort of a joke with N Payne now. He's never surprised when I say something like....did you hear that those folks (over at the next table) are getting married? Isn't that fabulous? He usually just smiles and chuckles at me.
