I got to spend some time with my daughter, Amber, today. I enjoyed the few hours we spent in conversation face to face. Most of the time, we talk on our phones because she lives a couple of hours from me. This morning we went to breakfast and chatted in her livingroom with our feet up. It was so relaxing.
So today, I’m grateful for time spent with her, and the communication that was made easy by the invention of the telephone. It’s been around for a long time and most of the time I take it for granted. I’ve always had a phone. As a little girl on the farm, we had a party line that we shared with the neighbors. We each had a unique ring and you were supposed to answer your ring, and no other rings. Which we did, most of the time. I admit, when Mom and Dad were gone, I listened to the neighbor girl talk to her boyfriend. Shame on me.
When I first married Roy, we had a party line, too. That didn’t last long and we had a private line with just our ring coming into the house. One phone on the wall in the diningroom was sufficient.
Over the years, we added extensions in other rooms. This seemed like a luxury. We rarely made long distance phone calls because of the expense and used them with caution.
Enter the first hand held phones. We felt new freedom with our phone. We could walk from one room to another as we talked. Wow, we thought, can it get any better than this?
It could, and it did. Cell phones. Our first one looked like a purse, but boy, we sure enjoyed it. As they got smaller and more powerful, we upgraded until now we carry one almost all the time. It slips into our pockets. We take photos on them and share them instantly with whoever we please.
We communicate with ease with friends, family and business acquaintances without a second thought.
Today, I”m grateful for telephones.
Virginia Pillars, Author 