The Ask And The Answer

I love to ask questions.
Like--l o v e it.

I had a friend tell me years ago that I had to "cool it" with the questioning.
And a boyfriend who would limit the number of questions I could ask in an evening--because it was getting out of hand.

Nowadays, I do what I want.
Though, I do think, over the last few years I have developed a better read on both people and situations which helps me to keep the questioning in-check.

What I wasn't expecting, and have been learning more and more in the last few months, is how much I love to be asked questions.

I am shocked at the sense of value I feel at the questioning. Being asked how I spent my day or my opinion on something or why I think I have a certain response or behavior. I can't believe that the listener would care about any of those answers, let alone ask additional or clarifying questions. {To be fair, even as I'm writing, I can't believe anyone would care about this either.}

But I'm learning. I'm learning a little bit more about my own value. I'm learning to trust that people might be interested in hearing more than a 2-sentence answer. I'm learning how to ask good--even great--questions. I'm learning the beauty of listening and really hearing.

There's a part of me that wants to apologize, in advance, for the barrage of questions with which I will accost you when we come in contact, but I'm not sure that would be honest--I'm not sure I'm actually sorry about it. Because I hope you love it. I hope you feel cared for and heard and loved. Because that's what I feel and I'm really learning to love it.