Hello, Is Dad There?

Guess what?!!  I talked to my dad on the phone today!!!!  OK, I can guess that I'm getting the same, "big deal", stare that I got from my preschool kids when I told them this this morning.  But, it really is a big deal.  You see, I don't think I've ever talked to my dad on the phone.  I was pretending that I have, but as I thought about it more, I realized that I probably just stole that memory from Lynn because she's talked about it enough that it felt familiar to me. 

My dad is hearing impaired.  So, he's always had trouble hearing, but over the years his hearing has gotten worse.  He can read our lips sometimes, and we write a lot of notes, but those things don't work over the phone.  Lynn says that dad used to call form work and ask to talk to mom.  Then he got to where, when someone answered the phone, he would just give them the message to give to mom.  I remember taking messages from the guys at work, because dad started having them call for him.  In the days before caller ID, telemarketers would call and ask for Mr. Breinholt.  We would tell them he couldn't hear on the phone.  Then they would say, "OK, we'll try back later."  And we would say, "he won't be able to hear then either."   So, as far as I remember, I have never talked to my dad on the phone.

Today, my mom and dad got a new phone.  When we talk, it types out what we say, then my dad can read it, and talk to us.  So, mom and dad called Lynn's this morning to test it out, and I got to talk to my dad on the phone!  It was super cool. 

Hello?

*Day 236*

The other day I left Logan with Matt because I had to go to work early. We made arrangements where and when we could meet so Logan could come over and play for a little while. It was library day. I was going to walk all the kids over to the library. Matt was going to walk Logan over, and then Logan could come play with us, and Matt could go home. When it was time for us to go to the library, there were some kids that still hadn't arrived at Lynn's house. So, we had to wait for them to come before we left. I figured that I had better call Matt and tell him that we weren't going to be able to leave yet, so they would know we were running behind. So, I dialed my number. It rang a couple of times. Then it stopped, but no one said anything. I waited a bit. Then I finally said, "Hello?". And Logan said, "Hi". At that point in time I realized that this was the first time in his life that Logan had ever answered the phone. Apparently, I didn't teach him how it is supposed to be done. So, we first had a little talk about what to do when you answer the phone. Like, he's supposed to say something if he picks up the phone. Then I gave him a message for his dad and told him how to hang up the phone. He's talked on the phone before. He always checks the caller ID for me and yells it out. ("It's just total free.") But, I had forgotten that he's never used to phone by himself. We might have to practice, so don't be surprised if you get a call from someone who doesn't say hello and then talks too quite to hear. Oh, yeah, he also nods his head a lot, so listen carefully for that. We'll work on it.