Loss for Words = Need a Default statement!

These two precious young ladies attended a one-day conference we had recently in Nykolaev. The young lady on the left speaks excellent English and is attending Medical School in Norway. The young lady on the right knows a limited amount of English and loves to use it. She would try to talk to me in English and then she would get frustrated when the words wouldn't come to her mind. So, she would just look at me and say "I love you", in perfect English. This happened several times during our day together.

I've thought about these attempted conversations several times. I've thought about how diligent she was to try and find the right English words to express herself. She took time and considered every word that went through her mind. And, rather than give up .... she defaulted to "I love you". Sweet!

If we gave more thought to our words, I wonder if we would speak to each other differently. Would our responses change if we only took time to consider the impact each word would have on the one we're speaking to? Should we develop a default statement in our own language? You know - something to say every time you aren't 100% sure about the words on your mind and your tongue!

Recently someone asked me a question that I wasn't prepared to answer. Especially because of where we were and the other people who were around. It was a private question and it came out of a situation we were asked not to share. When the friend looked at me and asked the question, I stood there, quietly (yes, quietly) ..... and finally said "I'm just not comfortable talking to you about this". She looked at me, a bit stunned, and said "ok". That was a moment I needed a default comment.

I'm thinking for me, I could default to some of the following.

"It's good to be able to talk together."

"Some things just require more time to think".

"Let's find a better time to talk."

"You always challenge me with your ideas."

And of course ....... "I'm glad we had this time together".

Maybe you have some ideas about what your default answer would be. If so, I'd love to hear them!

Until later ......... Я люблю Вас! (I love you!)