Growing up on Long Island, my friends loved to sit at the kitchen table at my house and talk to my mom (even when they were supposed to be picking me up and I was ready to go out the door).  What was it? She had a skill. She knew how to listen. She was able to pay attention to people in a way that made them want to be around her. She always had time for us and for them. She didn’t rush.Everyone who talked with my mother felt, well,…..important.

In this day of devices, screens, and virtual reality, I have tried to teach my family the importance of eye contact and true listening skills. It was a different day for my mother, but when I talk with the people who were a part of that world, they say that the conversations were enjoyable (of course we sometimes can’t believe that about our own parents) But I do think attention is a great gift to give someone, and results in positive self esteem as well as deep and lasting relationships, I often wish that my children and their friends could have sat at her kitchen table and experienced that attention first hand.

….and that’s why I love it when they sit at mine.