Modern communication method

Married couples often don’t communicate verbally. A raised eyebrow, a flared nostril, a tightening in a shoulder speak volumes. Men get “the look” and they know exactly what it means! Women get the “huh?” grunt – don’t ask!

Cedric and I, after 40 years of marriage, have discovered a new non-verbal way of communicating: the trusty flashlight (torch for my one foreign reader).

When I take Savannah out, the driveway curves gently down to the main road. There’s a nice wide sidewalk and plenty of sniffing material. I turn right out of our building, through an archway on the corner and under five huge fir trees that drip nicely on us if it’s been raining. Another 20 yards or so, and the curve brings us into Cedric’s line of sight from his study window. He picks up a hefty flashlight and when I turn and wave and Savannah wags her tail, he waves the flashlight from side to side. We continue walking. Depending on the temperature, if I decide to walk all the way to the road, I raise my arm overhead palm open and indicate “forward we go.” I look back and Cedric acknowledges with an up-and-down movement. We continue walking.

En route, Savannah hopefully does her business (sorry, too much information here) and I duly pick up her offering in a green poop bag. Refer to blog post a long time back on poop bags if you are interested. We turn round at the road and make our way back up the driveway. Once in Cedric’s line of sight again, I see the flashlight and wave the green bag. He acknowledges “what a good girl” with a huge up-and-down arc. Just before the fir trees remove us from the sightline, we both wave happily. I’m not sure why we derive so much pleasure from our flashlight semaphoring but after 40 years, it’s just as meaningful as talking.