My son Chris 17 years old

I came across the blog of a an old friend today.  (Well SHE’S not old, because we are the same age… and gee!  I AM NOT OLD!)  I almost didn’t “recognize” her as she has a new name and is a published author!  (You GO girlfriend!)

Her latest post dealt with the ability to observe.  Gee.  Those of us who are late-deafened have certainly mastered this ability, haven’t we?  Well, I guess if we haven’t mastered it yet, then we are still banging our heads against something hard and useless, trying desperately to get a grip on an acquired disability we didn’t ask for!  It’s in our best interests to be good students of observation.

My dad loves to shop… in malls nonetheless.  Ok, I’m stretching the truth a bit, but he does enjoy going with my mom to shop in malls.  Why?  He loves to sit and observe.  I’ve OBSERVED him “observing” and get pretty tickled as his face is definitely transparent as he “observes” this person… and THAT one!  He loves to eavesdrop, and I’ve been very entertained by things he’s observed when sitting at the mall waiting for Mom.

Learning to really decipher facial expression and body language is “key” for someone who doesn’t hear.  I like to think I’m an expert.  However, now that my son is 6′ 3″ tall and I’m looking straight up his nose when face-to-face in a typical mother/son “discussion”, I’ve come to the realization I still have a lot to learn about observation.  (“MOM!  I’m NOT rolling my eyes!  You can’t even SEE my eyes!  You’re staring at my belly button!”)  SMACK. 

Observation according to Dictionary.com:

Yup.  We could all do with brushing up on learning to OBSERVE.

Denise Portis
©2008 Hearing Loss Diary