This past week, I've been texting my mom to get updates on my Grandmother who hasn't been feeling well. She had gone to the ER because she had become dehydrated, but was sent home once they had her 'liquided' up and put on different pain meds for her back. With my family being 8+ hours away in my hometown of Albany, Oregon, texting has been the quickest and easiest way to get the information and updates I wanted.
The other morning, I had texted my mom to get the most recent update from my Grandmother's doctor visit, and she texted back..."IDK You could call her, though, cuz she's got the phone beside her on the couch." I read those words and almost laughed out loud (LOL) thinking, "What?" It was a totally foreign concept to me. Use the phone, which was created to have verbal conversations with people not standing next to you, and actually make a call? I've gotten to the point of texting and emailing for nearly everything. Picking up my cell phone or the phone at work and actually dialing numbers and speaking out loud to another person...that almost seems archaic to me.
But I did it anyway. I actually remembered my Grandmother's phone number from all those years ago of being a kid and calling her before riding my bike over to her house. (I did text my mom to make sure I had it right!) And she answered on the third ring...and when I told her who it was, there was this moment of shock-disbelief- and yet, total excitement at the sound of my voice. It was amazing to hear her voice, too, just like I remembered- the same voice that sang the alto part of hymns next to me in church on Sunday mornings, who used to make up crazy nicknames for me, and who always made me laugh when she talked about wanting a clematis growing on her lattice... Funny how all of that can come flooding back in a conversation about pain pills and doctor visits.
Not sure why I stopped dialing the phone... Truth is, I've probably allowed myself to believe the lie that we're all too busy to take the time to actually talk to each other, and that email and texting are much more convenient and don't intrude. But I know that my Grandmother truly appreciated my 'intrusion'...and I can't wait to call her up again and hear how much better she feels!!
Monday, November 15, 2010
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Monday, November 15, 2010
Just a phone call...
This past week, I've been texting my mom to get updates on my Grandmother who hasn't been feeling well. She had gone to the ER because she had become dehydrated, but was sent home once they had her 'liquided' up and put on different pain meds for her back. With my family being 8+ hours away in my hometown of Albany, Oregon, texting has been the quickest and easiest way to get the information and updates I wanted.
The other morning, I had texted my mom to get the most recent update from my Grandmother's doctor visit, and she texted back..."IDK You could call her, though, cuz she's got the phone beside her on the couch." I read those words and almost laughed out loud (LOL) thinking, "What?" It was a totally foreign concept to me. Use the phone, which was created to have verbal conversations with people not standing next to you, and actually make a call? I've gotten to the point of texting and emailing for nearly everything. Picking up my cell phone or the phone at work and actually dialing numbers and speaking out loud to another person...that almost seems archaic to me.
But I did it anyway. I actually remembered my Grandmother's phone number from all those years ago of being a kid and calling her before riding my bike over to her house. (I did text my mom to make sure I had it right!) And she answered on the third ring...and when I told her who it was, there was this moment of shock-disbelief- and yet, total excitement at the sound of my voice. It was amazing to hear her voice, too, just like I remembered- the same voice that sang the alto part of hymns next to me in church on Sunday mornings, who used to make up crazy nicknames for me, and who always made me laugh when she talked about wanting a clematis growing on her lattice... Funny how all of that can come flooding back in a conversation about pain pills and doctor visits.
Not sure why I stopped dialing the phone... Truth is, I've probably allowed myself to believe the lie that we're all too busy to take the time to actually talk to each other, and that email and texting are much more convenient and don't intrude. But I know that my Grandmother truly appreciated my 'intrusion'...and I can't wait to call her up again and hear how much better she feels!!
The other morning, I had texted my mom to get the most recent update from my Grandmother's doctor visit, and she texted back..."IDK You could call her, though, cuz she's got the phone beside her on the couch." I read those words and almost laughed out loud (LOL) thinking, "What?" It was a totally foreign concept to me. Use the phone, which was created to have verbal conversations with people not standing next to you, and actually make a call? I've gotten to the point of texting and emailing for nearly everything. Picking up my cell phone or the phone at work and actually dialing numbers and speaking out loud to another person...that almost seems archaic to me.
But I did it anyway. I actually remembered my Grandmother's phone number from all those years ago of being a kid and calling her before riding my bike over to her house. (I did text my mom to make sure I had it right!) And she answered on the third ring...and when I told her who it was, there was this moment of shock-disbelief- and yet, total excitement at the sound of my voice. It was amazing to hear her voice, too, just like I remembered- the same voice that sang the alto part of hymns next to me in church on Sunday mornings, who used to make up crazy nicknames for me, and who always made me laugh when she talked about wanting a clematis growing on her lattice... Funny how all of that can come flooding back in a conversation about pain pills and doctor visits.
Not sure why I stopped dialing the phone... Truth is, I've probably allowed myself to believe the lie that we're all too busy to take the time to actually talk to each other, and that email and texting are much more convenient and don't intrude. But I know that my Grandmother truly appreciated my 'intrusion'...and I can't wait to call her up again and hear how much better she feels!!
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