For years, we tried to do videocalls with Ben, but there had always been issues with signal strength and other technical hurdles. The bigger hurdle was probably Mom and Dad not being hip to the videocall trip – we didn’t really know what we were doing, or at least attempting to do.
But for the past couple of months, all of the hurdles have been jumped, and boy are we glad – Ben LOVES it. He’s become a videocall junkie.
We told his staff he can call us any time, 24/7. OK, so we haven’t received any calls at 2:00 AM, but I’ve been on my commuter train at 5:30 AM when – Ring! And on my trip home in the evening and – Ring! Or running a meeting at work and — Ring! Or in line at Starbucks and – Ring! Or in the car and – Ring! [Yes, I pull over.]
Ben’s never been interested much in talking on the phone. He never said “call Mommy” or “call Daddy” when it was just voice. A tinny voice coming out of a tiny phone speaker is probably just an abstraction for him. But face-to-face video is, obviously, very different. Now Ben’s a chatterbox, and most of the time, our conversation goes exactly like this:
[Ring — I answer and he’s usually smiling]
Hello Ben!
Hi Daddy.
How are you today?
I’m fine.
So what are you doing?
Bye bye Daddy.
Bye Ben! I’m so glad you called! Call any time! We love you!
[The end]
And that’s it. He’s not interested in some long, drawn out chat. The opposite. Being able to reach out and see us and converse for 25 seconds – to connect, whenever he wants – is all Ben wants or needs.
Often, his staff will place the phone behind Ben’s beloved beads toy, which I love because, (a) he doesn’t wander off and I end up looking at the ceiling, and (b) the call lasts longer — maybe a whole minute! — because he’s happily playing with his beads.
And as much as he loves it, we love it more.
[RING]
Sorry, gotta go!
