Friday, April 1, 2011

Truth about telephones

I admit: sometimes when the phone rings, I don't answer. We just got caller ID last week, so it doesn't always have to do with who is on the phone; I used to not know and still didn't always answer!

Here's the truth about telephones. They are there as a convenience.

There, I said it. Just because my phone rings and someone wants to talk to me doesn't mean I have to talk to them. Sometimes I'm busy. Sometimes I just don't feel like getting up.

And do you know what I've discovered? A lot of calls can wait. The easy ones are the telemarketers (we must be on every charity's list) because they just hang up and call another time. Most people leave a message. And I call back at my convenience, which is often just a few minutes later.

If it's really important, I get a call on my cell phone and/or an urgent message.... which I answer or return. How often does that happen? Maybe once a year?

Anyway, I've been hearing lately about how some people are upset when their calls aren't immediately answered. They take it as an insult or whatever. I'd say most times it has nothing to do with the caller.

So just relax, leave a message, and I'll call back soon. I promise. Right now I need to sing our special song* to my boys. And we can't be interrupted.

*What's our special song? "Can't Help Falling in Love", popularized by Elvis, from the movie "Blue Hawaii". When Wil was an infant, it was one of the few songs I knew all the words to so that's what I sang. And it always calmed him immediately. To this day, I can sing it to both boys when they are upset and it usually will calm them down by the end. When they want a song before bed, I have to sing it to each of them, with Sam holding my hand for the final verse (listen if you aren't familiar; it's very sweet.)

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