Tough Conversations

Last week Ray and I were talking about the difficulty of having "tough conversations" with each other, coworkers, family, basically everyone.  This conversation actually started months earlier when he and coworkers were asked to read a book called Fierce Conversations for a work-education project.  After Ray read it, he suggested it be one of the books I read this year so we could discuss it.  I think that's a great idea.  I'm not sure if the book discusses the full spectrum of conversation types, from teaching kids about the birds and bees to handling professional criticism at work, but I'm quite eager to find out.

Although I'm not usually one to avoid a tough conversation (my pendulum probably resides too far on the other side), I do sometimes justify a dodge.

Especially when just leaving a note will do:

The Note

The Evidence

Another Note

More Evidence

On the other hand... sometimes a note only delays the tough conversation.

I can hardly wait for Ray to get home so we can start conversing.