Conversation

Monica: Having known my husband for over 9 years, it can seem as if there's nothing new to learn about him. Our conversations can be interesting, thoughtful, heated, tender, vulnerable, or routine but rarely are they novel. This morning at breakfast, a TV game show sparked a conversation about singing. I found out that he sang in a quartet in middle school and wanted to learn to play the trumpet. It wasn't a big thing to learn, but it shifted my perception of him just a tiny bit.

Evelyn: In the roar of human chatter, amidst students and crowds, I find I can quickly get lost. I like the connection of just two, quietly whispering greetings and encouragement through whichever vehicle is used to manage the transactions of messages. Today, however, I took some moments to  enjoy the conversations that exist in nature as my eager ears eavesdropped on nature's gossip. Sitting by a lake near my work, I was taken in by the gabble of three ducks, tossing compliments and insults, and showing their prowess along the water and foliage. I am reminded that conversation doesn't just exist between us ethnocentric humans. I appreciate and am delighted by the quiet hum of nature even at night, with my windows open and the breeze giving me goosebumps, when the crickets and frogs prattle and croak elaborate tales of their day.