C011p07 I am an Auditor

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You probably should have thought of that, Warren, BEFORE you called your one potential ally stupid. Just saying.

The battle with this latest bout of deep depression continues, but I feel like I’ve talked about that too much lately. Hard not to, since its somewhat mind-consuming, but I’m managing. I’m still here. The fight goes on.

School has started again and I’m back in the classroom part-time. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy sharing the silent language of pantomime and expression with children. We use so many words for things, but so often they’re unnecessary. I can tell a kid, “Get back to your writing assignment” by pretending to open an invisible notebook and writing in the air. Or share a private joke with a funny face. Or tell them, “YES that little bout of rule-breaking HAS been noticed and something WILL be done about it if you don’t knock it off,” all with a single raised brow. And for some reason, these unspoken nudges often seem more effective than a spoken comment. It’s like we share a secret, silent language. And there’s something more fun about unspoken communication. Even if the message is, “Hey, quit poking your neighbor and follow the instructions,” there’s something about saying that without words (and a lot of hand gestures and head shakes) that is more relaxed.

I’ve always been a talker. Always felt that a thought had to be spoken and nailed down in triplicate. Only working with kids have I learned to value silence.

How do you talk without words?