On Listening

Technically, my bug man is Justin Silver. He owns the business that has been getting rid of my ants, spiders, and bugs for twenty years. It’s my newest tech, Michaela, though that spurred me to write what I learned from my bug woman.

Michaela has been treating my lawn and home for a year. This time she arrived because the boxelder bugs are overtaking my bedroom, as they do every fall. After she put on shoe covers to protect my carpet from her wet shoes, we walked upstairs.

“My house is a mess. I just posted a blog about camping with my niece. (See A Week of Firsts) I haven’t had time to put everything away. We just got home last night.”

“Oh, you’re okay.”

“I hate I didn’t get to clean up before you got here. It matters to me what you think because my home reflects who I am. I like to keep my house clean.”

Around my bedroom window, she sprayed something new, something “sticky” she said. Next, she did the same to all the downstairs windows. We kept talking.

“Actually, I don’t think most people care about what we think. We just spray. We aren’t inspecting.”

At her truck, Michaela put on a backpack sprayer. She continued listening and spraying as we walked to the backyard.

“I was gone all summer, and I’m still catching up on the yard. It was a successful summer, though. I finished my first book, Finding Joy in the West, did a book tour, and rode in three more states.”

“You’re out there traveling though. You are living your best life. All I do is spray bugs. I like it though. I’m not a people person. It’s hard for me to talk with people.”

Thank you, Michaela, for listening. You are doing way more than spraying bugs. You are a people person. Maybe being a people person isn’t about talking. Maybe it’s more about listening. So, what did I learn from my bug woman? I learned the importance of listening—even if you think you are just spraying bugs.

Thanks for being a part of this journey!

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Joy M. Walker