What do you do with the people in your life who don’t listen to you? Whether it’s a family member, a friend, or even a foe doesn’t matter if they aren’t taking the time to be vested in your world. I’m sure most of us have such a character in our life’s play. (Chaucer would have a field day with the imagery of this person. Massive mouth… non-existent ears.) These are the people who have the gift of gab, and being the good friend, enemy, or relative that you are, you listen, take notes, and ask questions in the appropriate places. Heck, you could probably be a contributing editor in the wikipedia page of their life. But the flipside of the coin is they truly have no idea what’s happening in your life and that doesn’t seem to bother them. They nod and smile, offering the right oh’s and hmmmm’s, but aren’t digesting your words. In all of your conversations, 95% of what they say is self-focused as if it’s your job to offer them a place to verbally purge themselves. I’m a pretty open person. I mean most of my life’s details can be found in this blog (even if I believe these people just skim through the posts looking for pictures). I strive to be supportive and truly listen to those who speak to me. I’m not asking everyone around me to be Laurelologists, but it might be nice to not have to say the same thing over and over again because they weren’t really paying attention each previous time. But what would be the best would be if this person asked, “how was your day?” and for once… really heard me.