Friday, October 15, 2010

I Am My Mother's Daughter

My siblings and I tease my Mom (okay, pretty relentlessly) about the fact that she chats up everyone, everywhere, every time we step out of the door. Whether we are at a store or a bus stop or anywhere in between, you can find my Mom talking away like she's met up with a long lost friend.

Since our move to our new city, I've come to the stunning realization that the teasing may be heading my way with a whole new generation. We stayed in temporary accommodations and while there, the concierge staff would chat with me on my several trips up and down the elevator with my dog. While out walking, strangers would stop and chat about the dog and about the city. In the stores, somehow, I'd get to chatting about how we were new to the city and making our way around.

We've now settled into our new home, and right away, we've begun getting to know our neighbours. When you are out at a bus stop every day with other parents and Grandma's, it's my thought that you can't just stand there in silence waiting for the children to arrive. We've even been invited to pumpkin patches and apple picking. Sometimes, it seems, people are so at ease with me that they share waaay too much information. Last night, a grandfather waiting for the school bus in lieu of his son started talking to me. He started shyly and hesitantly, and by the time the bus was there, he had told me his life history and his thoughts on society's morality, marriage and relationships.

I don't know if people nowadays are just so hungry for human contact out of the technological realm that they'll reach out to whomever is nearest, or if it's some sort of vibe that I send out. I do know that I've seen it happen my entire life. Hmm. Maybe it's just hereditary or part of my genetic makeup.

I'm off to get my daughter at the bus in a bit. I can guarantee I'll come home with a story. Someone ELSE's story, that is.

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