I promise I won’t talk about me, my problems or my opinions. I won’t rattle on about the weather or the latest news. I won’t talk about my operations or medical problems, real or otherwise. And I won’t tell you about “friends” or family members whom you do not know and their problems and medical health.
I won’t talk about my work, or that annoying co-worker that I am sure you must be able to relate to. I won’t talk about my house, pool and boat and trying to find Tommy Hilfiger socks in this town. I won’t tell you about how I need to lose 10 lbs because I “feel so fat at 120 lbs”. I won’t tell you how my oldest son only got an 85% on his final math exam or how my daughter won the art contest. And, I will NOT engage in a conversation with my VT partner and forget that you are even there. And more than anything else, above all, I will NOT sit there in front of you and READ the lesson because very few people are aural learners and none of this will retain in your memory because you will be thinking of all the work you have left to do in the house and wishing I would finish and get out of your house.
HOWEVER…
I will get you talking about yourself. Not “How are you?”, but meaningful, open-ended questions, and if I see that you don’t want to talk about your life, I will make sure you laugh and forget about your troubles for those moments I steal you away from your everyday life. And the lesson?… well… you won’t even know you had a lesson. I will keep it in the back of my mind and when the opportunity presents itself (and it will, thanks to the Spirit), I will cleverly weave it into the conversation without you even knowing it. But later, when you are alone, the Spirit will repeat it to you and you will say I am so glad my VT’s came today.
Posted by John in Visiting Teaching, VT-Ideas