Many self-help books purport to explain the difference between male and female communication: how to decipher hidden messages, unspoken thoughts, implied meaning.
I have learned to assume nothing.
The most recent lesson: My 21-year-old son invited his dad and me to a post-game hamburger cookout. The guest list included fellow rugby team members and their parents.
Most people would interpret this invitation to mean hamburgers, buns, condiments, maybe potato chips and–of course–plates and napkins.
Knowing my son’s limitations when it comes to gracious entertaining, I probed further. What, exactly, would this hamburger cookout include?
Hamburgers, he replied, and buns. Period. No condiments, no chips, no plates.
My husband and I stopped by the grocery store on our way to the cookout. Good thing we had communicated with our son.