Communication

Have you ever noticed that while you are speaking the same language, you aren't really communicating?
Jeremy and I frequently go on walks after dinner with the kids, and the other day, we were, for some reason, talking about windmills.
As we walked and talked Jeremy suddenly said,
"You could totally line up 40 windmills on Timpanogos and you really couldn't see them."
I piped up,
"But that is a really long way to go to get flour...I mean, it would take forever to walk up the mountain, and that's like FOUR HUNDRED miles away...Why would you put them up there."
Confused, Jeremy said,
"Flour? Why would there be flour up there?"
"You know, windmills grind the wheat and make flour..." Duh...
Jeremy looked at me like I was some grotesque bug.
"What???" I said, suddenly defensive.
"What are you talking about?"
"What are YOU talking about??"
"Windmills that generate power..." Duh..
"Ohhhhhhhhhh..."
Jeremy laughed and said,
"It was like you said to me 'why is the sky falling into my pocket?'"
"What???"
"Exactly!"
Ah the joys of learning to understand others...It's also interesting to note how stereotypical our thoughts were: I was automatically assuming he was talking about a windmill that produced flour to make bread, and he was assuming I understood he was talking about power-generating windmills...hmmm...