Small talk

Sometimes the best thing you can do is talk about the weather.

I remember the first time a nurse gave me a shot.  It was a vaccine of some kind; maybe a vaccine against a little boy’s aversion to washing his hands or eating vegetables, but whatever it was, I was afraid…very afraid. 

If I remember correctly, there was this long line of other victims (I mean other children) and one by one we entered into this room/torture chamber to face our fate.

When it was my time to face my doom, one of the nurses greeted me with a smile and asked me my name and chatted on about puppies and playgrounds and whatnot and, in what seems just a second or two, the other nurse patted me and said, “You can go now.” 

I was confused.  But what about that awful needle and the horrible pain? 

That’s when I discovered that, while the one nurse had distracted me with small talk, the other nurse had given me my vaccine and I had not even noticed.  I’ve never been afraid to take a shot again…all because of the wisdom of those two ladies.

The ONE THING for today: Just because it is small talk doesn’t mean it can’t be effective.  Just because something is important doesn’t mean you should weigh in on it. Sometimes small talk vaccinates a situation against a lot of negative emotions and reactions and paves the way for more meaningful conversations when the time is right. 

“What’d you think about this weather we’ve been having lately?”