Anytime I walk into a room of the house, or my teen son walks into a room I am already occupying, he will say hello.
It doesn’t matter if I just saw him five minutes ago, upstairs when I delivered some clean laundry or if I just woke up from a long night’s rest. This six-foot-tall teenager with his Shaggy Dog hair will say cheerfully, “Hi Mom!” He said this if I am someone who just walked into a frat party and he wants to acknowledge my existence but is talking to someone else at the moment. But he isn’t talking to anyone else, he is just looking at his phone or scrambling some eggs.
He gives this greeting tight and short, as if it is one word.
It has become such a thing, such a part of who this kid is, I forgot that he does it, until this past December we shared an Airbnb with his godmother and her family. Each time his godmother walked into the room he’d say, “Hi Auntie Katie.”
At first, of course, she said hello, until she realized he had just greeted her a few minutes ago in the kitchen. Her response became a bit quizzical. “Um, er, yes, hello.” And I started to notice that yes, this kid does this all day long and it is a bit weird.
It started during the pandemic, when we were all home doing Zoom school and work. I’d come into the kitchen where Zoom school was set up, to refill my coffee and there he’d be at the kitchen table with his younger brother. Each of them wore huge over the head earphones and their Catholic school uniforms, while their teachers taught them from their bedroom, in their bed, in pajamas. He’d look up at me and say, “Hi Mom.” He’d say that when I came in for my 8 am coffee and for my 8:40am coffee, until I realized, he said it because he needed reassurance.
The other adults on the other side of the screen were nervous and sad, they were fearful and angry. Children can sense all of this.
It became a joke in our family. Hi! How are you? Yes, we haven’t seen another living soul in now 17 days so each time I see you, in the kitchen, in the front room or even waiting in line outside the bathroom is an absolute treat!
It’s been five years now. And we don’t even realize he still says hello when we meet in the laundry room. It is just part of who he is. But now, I don’t think he says hello because he’s looking for reassurance. He now says hello to reassure others. He is here. He is strong. He is resilient.
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There is still space in my Generative Joy Zoom Workshop!
How do you even begin to get ideas on what to write: let alone something joyful?
In this generative workshop we will look at work from three joyful writers. Being in conversation with other writers help us develop our own pieces. You will start the seeds of THREE joyful pieces to develop and sharpen in the days thereafter.
Details:
+ Saturday June 7 10am -noon PST
+ Cost $60 (Paid via Venmo or Zelle or PayPal)
+This workshop will help to expand your writing network. My goal is to connect you with like-minded writers with whom you can encourage, uplift and share work even after the class ends.
If you are in Seattle, I will be reading at St James Cathedral this Wednesday May 21 at 7pm.
Hi, Shemaiah!
That is so sweet!