Nothing can make a calm and quiet house turn into a destructive war zone faster than the ringing of a telephone. Every member of the household can be completely consumed in their own activity until mom receives a phone call and suddenly the whole dynamic of the home is turned upside down in an instant. Whether it be a leisurely call from a family member or an important call from the doctor’s office, requiring some concentration, it is a rule of thumb that mom using the telephone causes complete disarray of everyone, even your husband.
I have learned this the hard way during my many years of staying home while my girls were growing up. During those years it sometimes seemed that the only contact that I had with the outside world was with the telephone, but unfortunately even when my girls were older, I still was unable to enjoy a valuable conversation.
The simple act of the phone ringing caused-
- All children in the house the instant need for a snack requiring assistance or a full-fledged mess would ensue, needing my immediate attention.
- The three dogs to go into an instant tirade of barking like our house was under attack. With a small house I had no place to hide and usually this left me with no choice but to lock myself in my bedroom. Children can sense a door being locked from over a mile away, which instantly brought them on scene, knocking on the door. Eventually my hiding spot was the place for three overzealous toddlers to be jumping on the bed and dumping the contents of my jewelry box on the floor, for a ‘fashion show’.
- My husband, although in his 40s, would not only not take on the task of watching the kids for me, but decide to come and find me and ask what I was making for dinner, or if I could fix him a snack. These questions did not go over well, but yet he never learned.
For some reason my death stare that can bring a normal human to their knees never worked when I was on the phone with any of my family members. I also found it strange that they never thought about the simple fact that my phone conversation was not going to last for an eternity and I WOULD be coming to find them after I hung up for immediate reprimanding.
I know that all mothers can agree with this discouragement. Life is just sometimes not fair. Although my daughters are now grown and can manage to sneak in text messaging while at the dinner table, I still can’t seem to receive a phone call in the evening without being interrupted. At least my friends and two sisters are also in the same boat with child rearing, so we have all agreed that we will eventually have the opportunity to communicate once again, probably in about 18 years.
