Once upon a time

I just spent over an hour "organizing" my desk. So far, all I have are empty drawers and a littered floor. Meh. I'm rewarding myself with a blog post. That is just how nerdy I am.

I'm working on a post about why I blog. It's getting long. Just so you know, if I ever tell you that I'm giving you the short version of something, just laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh. There is no such thing. I used to get frustrated because some D/deaf and hard of hearing people I know will just go on and on, telling me stories about some rather mundane event. It used to drive me up the wall... until I realized that I did the same thing! I can't just tell you how my day was. I have to start with telling you how I couldn't get out of bed, what I had for breakfast, how long it took me to get to work, etc. Most people say, "Good, and you?" when I ask them how they are. I give them my life story! So I'm trying to be a more gracious listener and a more succinct storyteller (Like I said, just laugh and laugh and laugh).

That is something that takes getting used to, though, when I'm around people with hearing loss - the stories. It takes longer, I think, to get through conversations because they don't have the same staccato as conversations among people who can hear. Conversations in the D/deaf and hard of hearing world are long and lengthy and full of rabbit trails. They might hover briefly at the surface but then they plunge deeper. It seems to me that people who can hear take longer to be vulnerable. They seem reluctant to just sit and talk. They always have to be doing something or going somewhere and they have to do it all in a crowd, never one on one.

But when you can't hear, you are already vulnerable and more willing to let your guard down with others. Your hearing has been stripped away and you can more easily see the things that matter. So you zip through things like what's your favorite color and what kind of music do you like and go straight to discussing what was it like for you growing up and how do you deal with your hearing loss? I think, too, that when you live on the outskirts of every other conversation, you are just so eager to connect, especially with those who can share your pain. So you tell stories and bond.

And live happily ever after. The end.