Another day
April 7th, 2006
I was at work. The phone rang.
“Hi mama”
“Hi darling. How are you?”
“Great” was my son’s relpy. I could tell he was smiling. I spend my days talking to my learners over the phone. I now have finely tuned telephone listening skills. I have learnt to compensate for not having the usual non-verbal body language cues to guide me.
“What have you been up to?” I asked. I expected the usual answer “Nothing!” Today was different.
“I’ve been out. I had lunch at the cafe at the library” replied Damian.
“I had a sausage roll, a custard square and a latte” he told me excitedly.
“Who was with you?” I asked after realising he had eaten his lunch at the cafe.
“No one” replied Damian.
My heart skipped a beat. I had to continue working but I struggled. I couldn’t get the picture of Damian sitting alone in the cafe out of my mind. I know where I would have much rather been – with my son enjoying the moment and spending time with him. The things you and I take so for granted provide extreme pleasure to others. They can become the highlight of that peron’s day. For them it is so much more than just another day.
