March 24, 2019
The other day, I stood outside with a few strangers waiting for something.
There was a mother, who had come to get her son, who looked about 8. He was trying to tell her about something. She was half- listening, while also scrolling through her phone.
I only have one burning question in these scenarios, because I see them with –to me- disturbing frequency:
“Is she or her son waiting for an organ transplant?”
That would be a good reason for checking her phone instead of listening to her precious son.
I was having lunch at the home of friends last year, both of them busy people with many good relationships.
Their phones were off and out-of-sight until after the meal. Then we were discussing a contact I needed, at which time the husband picked up his phone and texted me the info. I felt helped and honored by their kind listening attention.
About the mother mentioned above, I wonder if – ten years from now- when she is trying to tell her by-then 18 year old son something she thinks is important, if he will be scrolling through his phone, pretending to listen.