Five Minute Friday - Listen

So, here’s the skinny: every Friday for over a year hundreds of people have joined a kind of writing flash mob over at Lisa Jo's Place.  
We write for five minutes flat. All on the same prompt.

No extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation.

Unscripted. Unedited. Real.

Your words. This shared feast.

How to Join:

It’s easy to join in, just:

1. Write a post in only five minutes on that topic on your blog (or in the comments at Lisa Jo's if you don’t have a blog).
2. Link back over at Lisa Jo's place and invite friends to join in.

Our most important requirement for participation: There’s really only one absolute, no ifs, ands or buts about it Five Minute Friday rule: you must visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.

So join us now as we write about the prompt:::::

Listen…

START

"The word listen contains the same letters as the word silent".  

I try to remember that.  My life is full of loud.  Loud TV's, loud music, loud voices, loud people at work.  Sometimes it seems as if it is impossible to hear silence in all the noise.  
Today, I was loud.  I didn't listen when you were frustrated.  I just got frustrated right back at you.  I couldn't find the silence that I needed to hear your meaning behind the noise your words made.  
It is my fault, I know.  I am the grownup and you are still a child, even if sometimes, you think you know more than I will ever know.  It is my job as your mother, your example, and as someone who loves you unconditionally, to just listen to your heart, even when your words cover the meaning of the beats.  Even when the noise of the world is so deafening around us.  
I am working on patience my daughter.  I was struggling so hard today, to just breath in and out and think calm noises, that I didn't listen to what was important to you, right that minute.  
I wanted instead for you to know what was important to me.  I wanted you to know that I am not a complete failure, that I did not forget you.  That I knew what needed to be done.  I wanted you to know that you are loved and wanted and needed.  
I got so busy and mixed up with my own noise, that I forgot to be silent when it mattered most.  I forgot to stop planning the reply and listen, really listen just to understand your amazing heart.  
Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling...it is a joy...it is my passion.  It is, above all, a beautiful blessing.  
Every single word you speak is worth my attention and my silence as I listen.  

STOP