Attention Whore

Ok, someone finally said it to me. Someone outside my usual life has called me a selfish little slut, an attention whore. Sigh. This doesn't offend me so much as it puzzles me.

First off, let's look at my life. I stay at home and cook and clean and provide comfort, my choice. I do have friends outside my romantic triad but people are busy. When it comes to the guys, both men are inclined to "decompress" after a long day which means possibly hours of gaming/scifi. During which time I get no attention, if you have gamers you know what I mean. Now in what way does this scenario make me an attention whore? I actually spend more time alone than with either of the guys. My preference is time in peace and quiet, but when someone is here, I like to engage in a little conversation that goes beyond "Hi, how was your day?"

Secondly, what is wrong with wanting to be seen and heard? I have a friend who had threatened suicide. A relative of hers said she did it for attention and didn't really mean it.  I also have a friend who is a mom who is super busy and her three year old acts out. She's just doing it for attention. Since when did the desire to feel connection with another person become unreasonable?  I like a little intellectual stimulation. The girl who wanted to kill herself was in pain and needed a little check in with reality, namely that she was going to get through the pain and it would be ok. The three year old is a kid, kids need attention to feel loved to develop a strong sense of worthiness. What is wrong with that?
If we spent more time paying attention perhaps many of the wrongs done would stop.

Now let's talk about the selfish part. Seen as above I do get what I want. I don't have to work at the moment, I have plenty of peace and quiet for contemplation, and I am loved. Intellectual discourse isn't selfish, the exchange of ideas and feelings is mutually beneficial. It strengthens connection and satisfies a need both people have. We aren't even talking about sex here (of which I get plenty, also mutually beneficial I might add).


The slut part I totally agree with though. ;P Have a super Monday everyone and for pete's sake pay attention to someone today!