018: Two Sisters - Part 2

Today I want to finish the interview we started in last week’s episode 17, ” Two Sisters - Part 1.” If you listened to that show you may recall that I spoke with two sisters in their ’20’s, Hannah and Abby Barbeau. It was to learn what we could from them about sibling relationships, and also their thoughts about other relationship matters. Their perspective, as a millennial and someone from Generation Z, - suggest principles we can all apply to OUR relationships, regardless of our age.

Before we continue the interview, I need to mention that in the audio recording there are several spots in today’s episode that appear to be dead air. You might think there’s a malfunction in the recording because of the silence. There is not. I could have easily edited out the silence, but decided not to, because periods of silence are often part of substantive conversations. And we were having a substantive conversation. There were several times I asked a question, where Hannah and Abby paused to reflect on what they were going to say next. That’s a good thing!

In workshops I give on the subject of listening I talk about the concept of Let silence do the heavy lifting. Contrary to what you might think, a lot is going on in the silence. Thoughts are being carefully formed in one’s mind in order to articulate those thoughts in a meaningful way. So while it might seem awkward as the listener during silence, please know that important work is going on in the mind of the other person. Don’t rush to fill in the silence. Let silence do the heavy lifting. One of these days we’ll do an episode on silence and the role it plays in healthy relationships.

Carol, my executive producer, said she’ll try to see if we can book Marcel Marceau on as our guest for that episode. Great idea, Carol!

Well enough talk about future episodes. Let’s get on with the one for today with Hannah and Abby so they can finish their story about relationships. You’re going to find this interesting.

[Audio recording]

There are several things I learned - and felt - over these past two episodes that I’ll talk about in just a minute.

But to wrap things up for today’s episode, here’s the he main take-away, the big idea, our show in a sentence

Older generations play an important role in modeling for younger generations what healthy, authentic relationships look like.

Here’s a way you can respond to today’s show

Ask a question or two of someone in a different generation than you. Try to get a glimpse into what life is like for them. What are their joys? What are their challenges? And who knows, a relationship might even develop.

Coming up next week

I can’t let this conversation we’ve had over the last two episodes with Hannah and Abby just end without commenting on what they had to say.

So that’s what episode 19 will be next week - reflection and observations about what they shared. I can sum it up for you in one word: “encouraged.”  So tune in next week if you’d like to be encouraged too.

Quote of the Week

Last week’s quote of the week came from Abby Barbeau. This week I want to go with something her sister Hannah said in today’s episode. As a millennial talking about parenting Hannah said,

Your job as a parent is not over when your child turns 18. I still need my parents, even though I’m 26.

                                                                                            ~ Hannah Barbeau

Closing

Thank you for listening in to today’s episode.

Until next time, try to move the needle forward just a little bit in your relationships. Move it forward more by what you do, and less by what you say. Goodbye for now.

Resources mentioned in today’s show

Episode 17 - Two Sisters - Part 1

Shifting Shadows blog