Friday, October 05, 2012

"a phone call answered on the second ring" . . .



Or . . . "1-800-CONTACTS is thoughtful."

It struck me as kind of funny when I saw this phrase on my box of contacts.

"I am, a phone call answered on the second ring" . . . 

For one, I was thinking, "Now that is a pretty poetic message for a contact lens company."

Two, it really touched me, which seemed silly to me because--like I said--they are just a contact lens company!

[Three, their use of commas bothers me a little, but that is beside the point.]

With all the thinking I have done on the topic of answering and calling, this fits right in.  What if I was "a phone call answered on the second ring"?  That really says something, I think.  (Apparently, 1-800-CONTACTS is also "a handwritten note."  This is my kind of marketing.)

On my way up to Oklahoma yesterday for my great-uncle's funeral, I accidentally called my friend Sarah and also accidentally hung up on her without even knowing it (gotta love touch screens).  She called me right back, and then we both figured out it was all a big mistake.  :)  Because she was on her way into work, we didn't talk much, but as we hung up she called out, "Call your mom!"

She totally meant it as an encouragement, and I totally took it as one.  And I was grinning when I hung up the phone.

I still had 2 1/2 hours of driving ahead of me (and I was alone in the car--what in the world!), so I thought, "yes, I sure will call somebody."  My mom is a school teacher, so I knew I couldn't get a hold of her at that time.  So I called my friend Steph. . . you know, the one who gave me a good talking to?  :)

Turns out, she was right in the middle of about five different things, but she still talked for a few minutes until we decided we would try again later.  As we were hanging up, she called out, "Call someone else!"

And I laughed out loud.  My friends are really looking out for me.

As soon as Stephanie and I hung up, my cousin Kara called.  She was on her way to the funeral and had a couple hours ahead of her as well, so she had a feeling it might be a good time.  And it was.  Other than the five or so times my cell phone reception cut out (Oklahoma may not like Verizon, I don't know), it was perfect.  With five kids between us, we don't get a lot of talking time at family gatherings.

And then on my way back home later that afternoon, my mom called.  And I can't say for sure, but I may have answered it on the second ring.

You guys, this was a really good day for me!  If only every day involved sitting alone in the car for eight hours . . .

But back to real life.  You know what I was thinking?  Sarah called me back even though she had just gotten to work and wasn't going to be able to talk.  Steph answered the phone even though she had a one-year-old hanging onto her leg, her in-laws were in town having breakfast in her kitchen, and she and her husband were in the middle of a home improvement discussion.  She had to go tend to all of those things, but she answered.

And today I answered!

I was really encouraged by the comments left on the "picking up the phone" post, and I can't wait to get to them and reply (thank you!).  I loved hearing that others have put thought into this subject as well.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and maybe even a little phone time.  Who do you need to call?  :)

,
amber 

P. S. If you happen to be reading the comments from the phone post,  "Anonymous" is my husband, not some insincere commenter.  He thinks he is funny.  I guess it was his way of saying, "I was here/I read this post" without getting into anything too serious.  Kind of like blog grafitti . . . but in a nice way (or something).   I am still trying to think of a good response . . . :)

2 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear about your Uncle. Good for you for calling people. I am so bad at that. Because of your post the other day, I am actually attempting to get in touch with more people and actually call or message people back. Thanks for the encouragement:)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jane! I am so glad it was an encouragement! Good for you for making these attempts. There's no way we can ever do it all or do it perfectly, but it does seem like it's the simplest things sometimes . . . I am just learning as I go myself and trying to write about it--means a lot that it has encouraged you! It's good to hear from you! :)

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blog comments are thoughtful . . . :)

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