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| My kinda phone booth. |
So I've set a goal for myself and I think sharing it with readers might help me achieve it. My goal is to make at least one phone call a day for 30 days.
A little background...
If I could, I would text or email everything that needs communicating. Or, my real preference, talk face-to-face. I wish I never had to use a phone again. I hate talking on the phone.
I've tried to figure out why and I think it comes down to 4 things.
Ever since my first child was born, the act of placing a phone to my ear magically transforms the phone into a magnet. A magnet for interruption (1). It seems no matter how completely BONKERS I go on my kids when they interrupt, things haven't improved much in the last 15 years. I can't stand being interrupted by my own kids, but I also really don't like to be on the phone with someone when their kids or their spouse interrupt them (2). I think it's rude, but not everyone agrees
Then there's the cell phone factor. There is the tiniest little delay on a cell call that seems to be the cause of the awkward, stumbling quality they have (3). I feel like a cell call is sort of like a 4-way traffic stop, with the constant "You go," "No, you go," and then you both go at the same time, and all parties offer an ungraceful chuckle, and then you do the whole routine again.
Finally, I think I may be going a little deaf (4). I've always had a preference for listening to music very loud. What others might consider ear-drum-shattering loud. Like every other thing we do in our youth that returns in our 40s to bite us in the ass, I fear my years of headbanging have made me what you might call "hard of hearing." Just as the sharp edges of my vision have softened, so has my ability to hear the whole range of sounds. Damn you, middle age!
So here I go. My first phone call will be to the financial advisor whose number has been on my to-do list literally since April.
I'll be back tomorrow so stay tuned!
Photo: Know No Phone by Justin Marty.
I hate talking on the phone so much that even when a distant but important relative died last week I had to FORCE myself to call my cousin and aunt. It is a sickness. Add reason number five: when the call is over no one hangs up. And the goodbye lingers uncomfortably until someone starts a new topic to fill the awkward silence that is supposed to be filled by the sound of the phone hanging up.
ReplyDeleteI just agreed...by making a sort of cluck/gasp sound in recognition of how right you are.
DeleteSo that explains why I never hear from either of you! :-) Personally I like the telephone. Yes, my kids interrupt me (which is why I make my calls to friends at night, when the kiddos are in bed), and yes there's that "when should I hang up" thing. But it's far preferable to the random texts that pop on my phone at odd hours with half-started conversations interrupted and pithiness prized over real talk. In truth, I'd prefer a cup of tea together on my porch, but how realistic is that?
ReplyDeletePS. Tierra=Michele
DeleteI need to go back and edit to add that, like yours, my preferred communication is face to face. By, as you said, how realistic is that? One of my other excuses (I'm really stackin' 'em up) is that there's nowhere in my house that I can go where my kids can't hear me. Part of it is having a loud voice, and part of it is a child who is sensitive to noise at an "on the spectrum" level. If she's in bed, we can barely talk above a whisper and it makes me feel super sorry for myself but you can't argue with reality. You're certainly right about texts and the half-started conversation which makes me think somewhere in here is a thread about intimacy... xxoo
DeleteSo interesting. I'm a phone girl myself. Life is so much more interesting to me when a conversation meanders. I'm also kind of laughing thinking that when I was a teen, parents couldn't get their kids off the phone.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny, isn't it? I was the same as a teen: tying up the phone for literally hours. My kids have no idea how to talk on the phone...but that's a future post. ;)
DeleteYou practically hit the nail on the head for me! My story is exactly the same except no loud music just genetics! ENT said I am not ready for a hearing aid just yet! What constitutes ready? Saying huh all the time, not answering when asked something, what I ask?? Just give me the dang hearing aid already so I can enjoy life through communication again!
ReplyDeleteOh, man! The prospect of a hearing aid is daunting but I bet it would be really nice to stop having to do the smile and nod when you have zero idea what someone just said.
DeleteDay 6... How's it been going? :)
ReplyDeleteFunny! I am new to your blog but I think I may be with on that "loss of hearing". I almost 40 and boy can I tell the difference! All of a sudden, I've turned into my parents---the tv is too loud or the sound in the movie theater is way too loud! Thanks for making me smile this morning!! :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome! :) I'm so sorry; I just now saw this. Isn't it crazy? All the stuff people used to say about getting older and I would just roll my eyes - and it turns out it's all true!!
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