Sean's wife's the quiet one

Forgive me – one more post about our time in Orlando last week. Thankfully, this one’s not about me hugging anyone.

Sean was free most nights after the conference sessions. But Tuesday night, all conference attendees were required to go to dinner together, and I got to tag along.  A bunch of engineers, health and safety workers and me. (I know, I know: you wish you could have been there, too.)

Problem #1: the dinner was outside. Remember, we’re in Florida. It was stinkin’ hot. Problem #2: the dinner was on the beach at the resort’s lake. Heat and sand are two of my least favorite things. Add sharks and you’ve got my three least-favorite things in the world.

I kept my comments about the dinner location to myself. I wanted my presence to reflect well on my husband; I imagine reminding everyone that we were mere feet from a beautiful, air conditioned, carpeted ballroom would not have gone over well…

We met up with his co-workers, settled into our seats, which thankfully were in the shade, and began chatting. There were two points to the conversation: the speakers they heard during the day and issues back at the plant. Those were the talking points.

Initially, I thought there were only two problems, the heat and the sand. Turns out Problem #3 was me not knowing what in the world anyone was talking about.

I am unaccustomed to not participating in conversations. But I hadn’t been to the conference, so I couldn’t talk about that. And the info I have about the plant is limited to a few people he often talks about (hi Jeff, Mary, Liz and Luke!) and the issues that drive him crazy. I knew better than to bring up stuff that’s frustrating, so I just sat there.

After an hour, one of the engineers looked at me and said, “Sean’s wife is so quiet!”

Sean and I looked at each other, stunned. Then we cracked up. Has anyone ever said that about me? Nope. Not ever.

So now, the people I met at the conference think I’m a super-quiet, awkward-hugging kind of girl. If they ever meet me anywhere other than a health and safety conference, they’re not going to recognize me. Except for the hugging – I just hope I’m less awkward in my real life.