Communicative Intent and Reality

I'm finding myself agitated once again this evening. I am tired, sore and ready for bed. I am, however, still up because of a certain someone.....

The workshop I attended last week was based on providing a method of a functional communication system for our students that are considered non-verbal. We discussed the methods of teaching the system and the overall reasoning for our students to be able to have a communication method that is understood by the untrained ear.

The basis of communication is to serve as an exchange of ideas, feelings, thoughts as well as serve as a means of human interaction. It is also a building block of any successful relationship. Communicative intent is ultimately "reading between the lines." I have worked especially hard in this area when it comes to communicating with my bf. I have made a point to say what I mean and mean what I say.

If I say, I am going to run these errands then stop by that is exactly what I am going to do. I'm not trying to pry to see if he wants to have dinner or does/does not want to see me that night. I am forthright in what I say, and I am true to my word. I expect the same from him in all situations. Even something as petty as calling when you say you will or making a point to spend at least one evening during the week together aside from our actual date night becomes important and planned when it is communicated that it is your intent to do these things.

Doing them for two weeks here and there and then not again for another three to four weeks is not acceptable. Had my partner bothered to consider the fact that I was up late two nights in a row because he said he would call, he would have realized that I was most likely tired and wanted to go to bed at a decent time. Had he bothered to ask about my day, my training, or even stopped talking about his work and his projects for one minute maybe I could have shared with him some exciting news that I received at the workshop today. If he found the importance of communication and following through with what you have said nearly as significant as even one other idea or project in his head then perhaps he would actually bother to do what he has said he will do.

My dad, although he had good intentions, struggled with this concept too. Each intention turned into a false promise and in the end a let down. I never understood why anyone would communicate an intent to do something that they would not be able to fulfill. Say what you mean, mean what you say. After all, we have all heard the saying "actions speak louder than words."