On a scenic afternoon drive, I told my mother I had spoken with my girlfriend as she was visiting family on the American west coast.  “How did you do that?” she asked is some amazement.  Not trying to be a smart ass, but also not comprehending her question, I responded simply, “Uh…telephone?”  She nearly began to cry as she exclaimed, “I’m so stupid!”  I tried to reassure her she was not stupid, and told her my own story of holding my phone to my ear talking to Caleb as I sat at a red light, then panicking at not seeing my phone on the console, and demanding of my girlfriend and her girlfriend, “Where’s my phone?  Where’s my phone!”  They looked at me strangely, then began to laugh, and I realized the phone I was desperate to find was in my hand and pressed to my ear, with my son on the other end of the call.  I was tempted to feel stupid, too, but chuckled shame away and laughed it off as one of the funny tricks our minds sometimes play on us.  Still, I wondered at Mom’s momentary bewilderment at how I was able to speak with my long-distance sweetheart.

Image by Heiko from Pixabay