April 15, 2015. Madison, Ns. Listening In.

Listening in the conversation when the folks talking don't know you are listening is very satisfying. It is a bit like walking down the street to see the front drapes open and the lights on during a party. You can stand and see all the pretty people and they can not see you. My Mother loved it so my Father called her Nosy Rosy and would not partake. But not me. I was provoked if the draped were closed. The nerve of them to deny us our entertainment. But listening into a conversation is even better. Yesterday I spent the whole day in our master bedroom. Fortunately we have the TV and two comfortable chairs in the little sitting room in a glass enclosed sun room and of course we have our bed and the bathroom, so we could function very well. The 6 painters forgot we were there most of the day so with the door closed and the young men working just outside the door in the living room and dining room, I was able to listen into the chatter. It was great fun. They were nice young men which we already knew. They help us at every opportunity. They give me their arm when I am walking to the truck and always ask is they could help. Their conversation was fascinating in the very ordinary nature of their talk. The discussed their children and how they were doing at school. They wished they had more children which I found interesting. They discussed Mississippi and living here. Three painters had stayed to work after they first came to help out after Katrina. The three found the people so grateful and helpful that they decided to stay and sent for their families. They discussed their parents and how well they were doing. It was obvious Ken and I were not doing so well so they compared the health of their parents and were grateful for them without criticizing us. And they discussed money. No sports were raised. These discussions took all day, in fits and starts. It was all I could do to ask a question or two but of course, then they would know I was listening into their conversation. It was splendid for me to hear them and their ordinary talk. Listening into their conversations make me feel I knew them better, which of course I do. But I won't tell a soul.