Sometimes the Kindest Thing You Can Do is Listen

Listening

I came across a Facebook post by a radio talk show host in Phoenix who recently fostered then adopted a six-year-old girl whom he refers to as “Sister” in his post. It reads: “When Sister was first placed with us she told us, ‘People say that I talk too much.’ And she seemed embarrassed about that… So, it was revelatory when I made a connection to what she told us about herself six months ago and what she said to me today. We’ve been taking walks now for a while. I’m not sure how it started or why, but she likes it when she can get out of the house, taking her doll, Angela, in her stroller while we walk/talk around the block. Our discussions range from the color of unicorns to who-does-what on the playground when a certain person isn’t being kind, to what airline is that jet flying overhead?… But today, as we rounded our last corner, she said something that made me choke up, as it was keen insight into her former life with her bio-family. …she hit a crack in the sidewalk and Angela almost tumbled out of her stroller. Sister grabbed her and kept her from falling and then said, ‘These walks are always so fun…you never tell me to be quiet or yell at me for talking too much.’ TON OF BRICKS… I talk for a living, but this wonderful, little girl reminded me of just how important it is to just LISTEN.”