Wait, What? You Want to Talk?

I got a call from a coworker today. I teach with him and he does a lot of great work at school. We talk all the time when we are there, and it’s rarely about education. It’s almost always about sports or something else wacky. Sometimes we let our co-taught class get in the way of such conversations, but it’s almost always unrelated.

Anyway, I had sent a group text to him and a few others yesterday just checking in and making sure everyone was happy and healthy in light of all the news circulating. I had suggested some free sports diversions for people to enjoy. (A lot of sports leagues are offering free material to people to keep busy at home.)

When this teacher called, I was afraid there was something wrong! Did a parent get upset? Did I mess something up in my online work? Is he ill? Actually, he wanted to talk football. We spoke for about ten minutes about it. He was showing his son some great games from a decade ago, like a lot of dads have been doing in the absence of live sporting events in the nation.

I know this doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it was great!

When was the last time someone called you out of the blue just to talk? Does this sort of thing even happen anymore? How often do you reach out and call someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time? I am one of the worst about it and I really need to do better. It’s so crazy to me that nowadays, when someone I don’t talk to often calls me on the phone, I assume the worst. Maybe other people think the same thing if they see me call.

Lately, I’ve been going for walks and runs more often in the void of so many other things to do to occupy my time. When I run into someone on my walk, I try to keep away and do the “social distancing” the experts tell me to do. However, in the process I’m trying to bring back the actual greeting. Runners are great at the head-nod or the quick “hi” in between breaths. I’m working on the “good morning” and the “how are you doing” that actually involves caring about how they are doing. It’s not much, but I feel like I have undervalued the human voice.

It’s sort of unfortunate that it takes such strange circumstances to think about these things, but I think it’s better late than never. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy brief long-distance conversations with neighbors. I can’t even explain how enjoyable a ten-minute phone conversation was. On the busy days in a regular March or April, I’m not even sure I get ten minutes one-on-one to talk with my wife!

People need each other now more than ever, and yet we are allowed to be around each other less than ever. Maybe it’s a phone call. Maybe it’s a neighborly greeting. Maybe it’s a real conversation with a friend or loved one that you aren’t trying to keep distant from. Let’s not forget just how much we can make someone’s day. Pick someone tomorrow and spend some time talking! You don’t know how much they might need it.