When she’s slow to reply, I ask my daughter again.
While waiting for her daughter’s reply, Mom keeps turning her phone on and off. How long can the wait stretch before a reply comes?
Yunjeong is waiting for a reply from her grown daughter. In the counseling room, she talks with Dowon and faces the moments when the waiting grows long.
One evening, Yunjeong texts her daughter to ask if she can stop by for a bit that weekend. When the reply is slow, she adds another question. Then a short reply finally arrives, and she can’t bring herself to ask more. In the counseling room, Dowon helps her look at how her day comes to a standstill while she waits.
When waiting for your child’s reply
While a reply is slow to come, it can feel as if your child’s schedule and your whole day are caught up in it.
What do you find yourself putting on hold most often while waiting for a reply?
The moment she kept turning her phone on and off while waiting for an answer stays with me. Sometimes, as we wait, a child’s day and a mother’s evening seem to overlap on one screen. If you’ve been through something similar, you can share your story someday, too.
Scenes
- 01 · An Evening’s Question Can you stop by this weekend? — Before making dinner, Yunjeong texted her daughter to ask if she could stop by for a bit that weekend.
- 02 · A Night Without an Answer One More Message — When no reply came, Yunjeong sent another text: “Looks like you’re busy. Is this weekend not going to work?”
- 03 · A Short Reply I’ll come another time. — Her daughter replied, “This week won’t work. I’ll come another time.” Yunjeong left the reply field open and didn’t type a thing for a while.
- 04 · Saying “I’m Waiting” While Waiting — In the counseling room, Yunjeong said her day seemed to stop while she waited for a reply. Yunjeong: When I’m waiting for a reply, I can’t focus on anything else. Dowon: Yunjeong, I’d like us to look together at how long the evening feels while you wait for an answer. What do you notice first then?
Stories by Dowon
- Dowon
- Every weekend afternoon, I go over my fixed costs again.
- I can't get to my plan even after putting my child to bed.
- After the holiday, I find myself wanting to try something new.
- I can’t choose a move-out date in the hospital waiting room
- After the work dinner, I wonder if working with people is right for me.
- When I stop exercising, it feels like the life I want gets put off too.
- While doing the dishes, another path came to mind.
- Why do the words come easily in the car, but stop when I’m with them?