The Pay Phone

It is generally acknowledged among modern civilization that

these blue booths are nearing extinction.

There are still those among us, however, who pay in an unconventional way

for the calls they take or place.

They call this segment of the population, 'Mothers' (of small children).

For each and every nano-second our ear is pressed up against a phone,

we insert 'coins'. These coins might otherwise be identified as the following:

a.) Energy: waving our hands wildly, gesturing with force and fury at all those responsible in unleashing the heck that began breaking loose at the sound of the first ding-a-ling-a -ling. The passion and brute force of our silent charade is in no way reflected in our pleasant vocal tone, particularly so if speaking to someone  who is under the impression that we are good mothers and kind people.

b.) Ignorance: if we, on rare occasion, are able to enjoy relative silence and find our usual phone-call nemesis preoccupying themselves in another part of the domestic dwelling, this will almost always result in an absorbent amount recovery efforts, such as sorting through THREE dressers full of clothing, underwear and socks, all mashed together in a pile so that they would have something to jump in.

c.) The Great Give-In :  Whenst so desperately wanting just 3 FREAKIN' MINUTES to get a message across to one's pediatrician, online support or friend, the sharp little gnomes crawling up your leg see the window of opportunity and will claim it with gusto, and in my case, are often victorious depending on the urgency of the call. They either mime, point, beg loudly or jump up and down in request for the lollipop or fruit snack they would otherwise know to not even waste their breath on. It's possible that there have been calls, and not long ones, mind you, in which my children inhaled more sugar than they do Easter morning. All for the sake of finishing a few sentences with another adult.

And that, my friends, are why 'pay calls' are not so extinct after all.

We may not be ensconced in a small blue booth (doesn't sound so bad, does it?), but we sure as sugar pay per minute!

If you care to share, I (and other readers, I'm sure!) would love to read of your most memorable form of 'payment' that your children caused you to dispense of!!