On Calls, Worry and How an Unanswered Message Announces My Demise

My mother was in rare form last night.

Apparently I called my mom last night around 7:00. I don’t recall calling her, but it is possible that I accidentally hit her speed dial number while I was talking on the phone, receiving calls, picking up food and walking home from work. There was a lot going on at 7:00 last night, and it is possible that in the flurry of activity I mistakenly gave my mother a call.

My mom answered my call, only to have me hang up on here immediately. Thinking this was odd, she called me back. I did not notice her call because I was on the phone with a friend who was across the street and urging me to come to a bar for a few drinks. I had to decline due to the fact that my hands were full of groceries and food. With traffic rushing by and my friend waving me down from across the street, I failed to notice my mother’s call.

When I got home, my hands were full and I did not pay much attention to where I dropped my phone. I also did not bother to take the phone off of vibrate mode. Because of that, I missed another couple of calls from my mother.

It wasn’t until hours later that I finally heard my phone buzzing from my bedroom. I had just gotten in from the laundry room and ran to answer the phone. It was my mom.

“Hello.” I was slightly winded from rushing around.

“Are you okay?” There was panic in my mom’s voice.

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“I’ve been so worried.” I could tell she was on the verge of tears.

“I’m fine. Why are you worried?”

“You called me earlier and hung up right away. I’ve tried calling you back a few times, but you haven’t been answering or returning my calls. I was worried something had happened to you.”

I had to think back over the course of the evening in order to give her an explanation. I really did not recall making the call to her.

“Oh.” She was obviously relieved. “I thought maybe you were sick or hurt and unable to get to the phone. I’ve been a wreck all night.”

This is my mother. One missed phone call can turn her world into an emotional frenzy. An unanswered message is a sure sign of mortal peril. Two unanswered messages must mean someone is dead. It is very hard to be my mother.

And it is very entertaining to be her son.