Words!

I actually found myself lost for words today!

Those who know me would probably allow themselves a wry smile for such rare occurrence. 

A friend I have known for a very long time who had arranged to visit me soon during a rare trip to the UK cancelled because something I have said, by text, has unsettled them.

I was completely disconcerted, then baffled, annoyed, indignant and, ultimately, upset. What could I possibly have said to have such a dramatic effect?

It's my experience,as borne out by this incident, that no matter how fluent and clear you think you are being, texts can be an incredibly blunt instrument. Having a package which allows "unlimited" texting, I am free to stick to my guns on avoiding "text speak" - I only use "ty" and never Lol! I like to think of myself as articulate, careful with words, but something I have said to this person has gone horribly wrong.

I am so frustrated! If only this person had chosen to check what I meant, or thought about who I am, they may have recognised how misguided their thinking has been.

How many times in life do people react to something they have imagined and been completely wrong? We all have different levels of "chatter" in our minds at any point in the day,or night, alot of which is doubtless best left unsaid, but how I wish that sometimes folk would pause for a minute and think logically and reasonably before acting. 

I am not pompous enough to exclude myself from this. I have so much internal dialogue going on most of the time that it can be difficult to gather my thoughts! The positive aspect of this is that it saves me arguments, I've had them in my head and don't need to express them aloud. The negative is that it can be a tremendous waste of energy.

So, whatever was this person so bothered by? I am owed an explanation, and have been told I will receive one; in the meantime, I think I've worked it out - a misunderstanding about girly bits, I wonder whether I'm right?

I offered him my daughter's bedroom to sleep in, thinking to save him money, and wondered whether he'd cope with her girly bits, by which I meant all the paraphernalia which a girl in her early twenties likes to have around her. Thinking about it though, I can see how that might be misconstrued. However a bit of common sense would soon dismiss that interpretation, surely?

We both think of ourselves as good with words and still got it wrong. Proof if proof were needed that it's not just what you say but how you think, hear,act, that matters.