I Just Want to Talk (and for You to Agree with Me)

"I want you to do what you want. I just want you to talk to me about it. I want us to talk about what it will mean and how we’ll make it work. I want us to talk like we’re going to figure it out together. I want us to talk … because I like the sound of your voice. I just want to talk."

I watch this clip from the next to last episode of The West Wing frequently because it's such a sweet ending to a long-running and slow-developing love story on the show. But I also think about it sometimes when I find myself with no one to talk to about things but myself. And you know, I get tired of the sound of my voice.

My husband and I have fallen into a pattern that I think is fairly typical for parents of kids with special needs. I do the researching and planning and worrying and second-guessing, and he implements whatever it is I wrestle into place. He's very supportive and rarely disagrees with or argues with my plans, and I appreciate that. I want to do what I want. But I'd still like us to talk about what it will mean and how we'll make it work. I want us to talk like we're going to figure it out together. I just want to talk.

I remember having the same feeling back in my IEP days, where there seemed to be two options: I would shut up and completely agree to whatever the professionals wanted, or they would throw up their hands and give in to whatever they felt I was demanding. And yeah, I wanted them to do what I wanted. But I wanted to talk about what it would mean and how we would make it work. I wanted us to talk like we were going to figure it out together. I just wanted to talk.

I'm out of that school grind now and making decisions for young adults whose communication issues make it hard for me to get the feedback I like. I'm still making plans for them, and explaining those plans to them, and justifying those plans to myself and anybody within listening range of my voice, like the sound of it or not. I want them to do what they want, but I want it to be what I want. It would be nice if they understood what it would mean and how we'll make it work, and that they have a part in us figuring it out together, but I'm never quite sure. Which means, once again, that the weight of every decision is on me.

That's probably the way it is in most relationships that aren't scripted by TV writers (how do I get me one of those, by the way?). We want in theory to share the decisions and their weight, but wanting to do what we want to do doesn't always go along with that. We want detailed positive reinforcement for our decisions rather than a real give and take. It's lucky for Danny that the show ends before he has to make good on his swoon-worthy declaration. But it's a nice dream, isn't it? Let me go watch that again.