Eating Life with a Big Spoon

[ciluzen]

Andrew P,
That was absolutely spot on advice! HaWho, maybe not being so available by cell phone is needed. I know I sometimes get irritated with my own ("grown up") children when they hide behind their cell phones and try to send me complex, long, and emotional texts which can be misinterpreted due to lack of ability to hear the tone or inflection they would be using. Its bad enough that we can't read body language by phone. I really believe that we are losing our ability to effectively communicate with each other because of our reliance on what is easier (text).
Maybe making it harder on him will actually force better communication. He would have to meet you face to face. How would you set this up? I'm not sure. Maybe just explain that you think that texting is not helping your communication, and that you will not do it anymore while you are x number of feet away in the same house? Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree with this. But I know in my own life, communicating without a voice or face attached is only semi-communicating when it comes to the complex and the quick...I always end up calling at the very least to make certain that one or both are not being misunderstood. Sarcasm runs rampant in my family, though, and text does not communicate that well.

When it comes to my H (at this point), his texts are always very simple...facts only. Nothing that needs to be interpreted. If it is about anything beyond "I have done x" or "will you do y", he will text "can I call?". That's our new way of communicating. No more jokes or stories by text. Sad, but nothing is left to misunderstand.