During my day as a stay at home Mom, there are phone calls. Some are personal, like calls from friends to see what corner I left the children on, and some are business, like the Doctor calling to see if I need a refill. All are important and pertinent to my survival as they give me an opportunity to speak to actual adults. A luxury in my line of business.
So what is it about this little contraption called the “telephone” that draws children to it like a my lips to a beer?
Seriously. All three kids can be happily playing, sleeping, or outside. The phone rings and I hear the pitter patter of six feet running in stampede mode, challenging each other to get to me first so that they can scream “MOMMMMEEEEEEEE” at the top of their lungs for the pleasure of my listener to hear.
Other Mothers understand. Non- mothers do not. In fact, I distinctly remember when my girlfriend had kids. I’d call her and could only catch one out of every seven words while she tried to talk over the noise of her children in the background. I had to repeat myself 85 times and in the end, we’d both be exhausted and frustrated. I used to wonder why she could not get her kids under control and teach them that when she is on the phone, they need to be quiet. Thank you God for teaching me what it was like for her and what an air- headed, snobby, idiotic blowhard I truly was.
So I now fear when my phone rings. I check caller ID. If it is a caller that is truly prepared to listen to me have a conversation with three other people while also talking to them, I answer it. If it is my parents, I don’t. Sorry, but they don’t do well with background noise.
Heaven forbid I take advantage of a quiet, all three are occupied moment to make a phone call. Oh no… those are the worst. Because if I am calling out, it has to be important! So I appreciate less their dial-dar when I pick up the phone. I usually get out “Hello” before having to end the call abruptly with “I’ll have to call you back.”
It is embarrassing. Especially for a gal desperate to discuss something other than Princesses, Wubbzy or – well…. poop. Oh the conversations we girls can have about poop. Another time, another blog.
So, like many stay at home Mom’s, I find my main form of communication to be web based. I know that the creators of Twitter, Facebook and MySpace are all men. But I promise you that they created these sights out of desperation. To get their wives and mother of their children off of their backs!
If it were not for Facebook and Twitter, I would be a drinking, lonely, uninspired mother of three trying to stimulate my brain by keeping a journal…. oh wait….
My husband gets upset with me because he thinks I am on the computer all day. While correct in that my computer is always on, being on it all day is a impossibility as we all know. But I will say, I attempt to carve out time to check in with friends and make sure no major news story has broken. Because, truth be told. Unless they talk about it on Sesame Street, I have no knowledge of that is actually going on in the world!
And because there are only so many dishes I can do in a lifetime, floors I can mop and clothes I can fold, I do sometimes – shhhhhh – put off chores to be online! But I think I am the only one, husbands. All other wives I know cook and clean all day and never check in online… like, ever.
But I will say, now that my children are getting older and showing an interest in the computer, I think my social life is limited. They will be on it all day and I will have to resort back to the telephone. Maybe by then I will have taught them to be quiet when I am on the phone.
LOL the best is voice activated phone menus…..my kids always screw them up for me, and I always think grrrr why can't these places be open till after they go to bed!!!
OMG I forgot about those!!! it took me an hour to make a call today cause they kept yelling!! ROFL!!
LOL!! Love it, because you took the (much better said) words right out of my mouth!