13 Thursday: Call Me
1. Valentine’s Day Morning: He replaced the belt on the vacuum cleaner for me. I left him a pink valentine bag on the kitchen table the night before with a card and a Sunkist naval orange inside. He responded by leaving me a conversation candy heart that said, “Call Me.”
2. When the phone rings, instead of cringing and thinking ‘who could be calling me now,’ I’ve decided to pretend it’s the citizens clearing house telling me I’ve won a million dollars. Even though I never signed up for the prize, I’ve decided to pretend it’s true because I want to change some of my habitual negative thought patterns and replace them with enthusiastic ones.
3. I spent a good part of Valentine’s Day sick in bed with the phone, going through my speed dial to tell the people on it that I loved them.
4. I only got as far as three calls, which was a big deal for me since I’m practically phone phobic.
5. I can trace my aversion to phones back to when I was a girl. When boys I liked would call to talk to me, I would sit on the other end of the line frozen with nothing to say. But not liking to talk on phones also runs in my family.
6. I don’t like watching sports either, unless my sons are playing in them.
7. I don’t use white sugar so I never have it in the house. But I collect sugar packets from gas stations and fast food places so I have some on hand for when company comes.
8. When we first moved into our Blue Ridge Parkway cabin, fifteen years ago, our neighbor actually asked to borrow a cup of sugar. My kids were mortified that we had no sugar to offer him. I tried to convince him to try honey. He’s never tried to borrow anything since.
9. A poem I wrote twenty five years ago that my sister Sherry, a nurse, hung on the bulletin board where she worked is called Remedy and goes like this: Take two poems … and a trip to the ocean … call me in the morning … Plenty of fluids … and funny business … 3 Hail Mary’s and a hug … Take lots of music … as you need it …dance 3X a day … follow your own directions … watch your children play … Now bless your stars and tell me something nice …. call me in the morning …or call me at night.
10. I used to preface things I wanted to remember with “Note to self.” Now I’m at the point where I have to say “Note to self … in writing.”
11. Joe calls up to the computer room at night where I’m working, “Are you almost done?” “I’ll be down in a minute. I’m just admiring my blog,” I answer.
12. The “Call Me” conversation heart Joe left on the table on Valentine’s Day morning sounded more like THIS rather than THIS.
13. Candy hearts are to Valentines Day what candy corn is to Halloween. 13 Messages After the Beep are HERE.
Thursday headquarters is here. My other 13’s are here. View more 13 Thursday’s here.
February 20th, 2008 11:17 pm
What happened to the Thirteen Thursday Hub? Does anyone know? I hope it’s back by the morning.
February 20th, 2008 11:27 pm
I never had a love affair with talking on the phone, but the older I get the less I like it. I don’t know if it’s age or if it’s cell phones. I talk on them when I have to.
February 20th, 2008 11:32 pm
Colleen
I love the poem Remedy that you wrote 25 years ago!
I enjoyed this post!
Thank you!
Margie
February 20th, 2008 11:41 pm
Oh I just LOVE your Poem, Colleen…It is just perfect, in every way…! I bet your sister kived it too! And all the people who worked in the Hospital, too….!
I hope you are feeling ever so much better, my dear…! Do take good care of yourzself, cause I count on you being here whenever I need my “Colleen Fix”…LOL!
February 21st, 2008 1:26 am
Mr. Gattino thinks the phone bites and ALWAYS hands it over to me ! I don’t know what happened to TT page I can’t load it either.
February 21st, 2008 9:49 am
Tonight I am taking two poems and a trip to the ocean! Thanks for the inspiration.
February 21st, 2008 9:56 am
My husband just changed my vacuum cleaner belt too. I am pretty independant, but I have no idea how to do that.
February 21st, 2008 11:25 am
As I am reading this, the phone is ringing in the background. Thank goodness for caller ID – don’t recognize it, leave a message. Carrie’s boyfriend calls from Australia, knowing we won’t answer if Carrie is not there (to save him $), gets the machine message recorded by my husband, and puts it on speaker so his friends can hear the sound of redneck voices from Georgia.
Love the poem in #9! Very good advice, and you don’t even have to worry about if insurance covers it.
Have a great day, hope you are feeling all better now.
February 21st, 2008 11:42 am
Hate the phone, just hate it. As a therapist, I learned that I never have to answer it. Yippee. I hate it because it totally disrupts my day, then I’m on someone elses time. grrrr.
Are you feeling better? I hope so. I love your guy! My guy got me 2 purple bandanas and said I could now look like house frau. lol! (My hair is growing out so it’s in my face all the time)
Happy TT Colleen – you are blessing!
February 21st, 2008 11:57 am
I loved #11.
Hope you’re feeling better by now.
February 21st, 2008 12:13 pm
I love conversation hearts. And I like your call-me story. Thanks for sharing!
February 21st, 2008 12:56 pm
Awesome list….nice to know I am not the only phone phobic person in the world.
February 21st, 2008 12:58 pm
I’m glad I’m not the only woman who doesn’t like talking on the phone. Sports, either, though that’s not as uncommon. 🙂
February 21st, 2008 1:37 pm
I love conversation hearts…made by Necco, of course!
February 21st, 2008 4:15 pm
I always know it’s Thursday when I come to your blog……..I love that poem too. I should put it up in the hospital I now work at.
February 21st, 2008 6:21 pm
Very enjoyable.
February 21st, 2008 7:21 pm
I don’t really like answering the phone either. When I was really little, I said, “Bag a pardon?” to a lady and she replied, “Bag of what, dear?”
I hated talking to boys and would get all nervous. I don’t like answering the door either!
February 21st, 2008 8:46 pm
This is a wonderful post. I can identify with a lot of what you say. I too am phone phobic for possibly the same reason. I like my cell–I can turn it off and make it all go away!
I like your Valentine’s Day narrative, too.
God bless.
February 22nd, 2008 10:05 am
I don’t like talking on the phone much either; I think it’s because you can’t see the other persons body language and facial expression which count for so much in communication. So, I just love your suggestion of welcoming the phone ringing rather than seeing it as an inconvenience. So empowering!
I laughed at the one where you said you were just admiring your blog. Michele sent me to admire it too!
February 24th, 2008 2:34 pm
I like your approach for dealing with phone calls. I’ve become phobic about the phone since I’ve been sick leave because all too often when it rang it meant some bureaucratic nightmare I had to deal with. I’m glad to know I’m not alone in the “I heart my blog” club because I too spend a fair amount of time admiring my handy work. I’m blushing. Sorry it took so long for me to get over here. Do you know the hub is still down? So very strange!
February 25th, 2008 2:01 pm
I’m late to visit but am catching up as best I can … enjoying your wonderful humor even while you’re ill. I hate getting a new phone and hope my old one works forever. Hope you’re better by now!
Hugs and blessings,