When I was a kid and my dad would travel for work, we would rarely hear much from him until he got back from the trip. At that time, most hotels charged quite a bit for long distance phone calls, so it was always impractical for him to call. It wasn't a big deal, it was just the way it was. Think about how it was before we had the phone. A phone call wasn't even possible. You would wait for a letter at best. That would just stink. I don't know how they did it back then. I don't even know how my dad did it when he traveled.
Today, at the very least, most people probably have a cell phone with unlimited minutes or something. But the best thing for the traveling family man is FaceTime. It could be Skype too, they pretty much work the same. I believe, whatever else Apple might tell you, that the reason FaceTime was invented was so I can sit in my hotel room at night, and not just talk to my kids, but see them and interact with them almost as if I were in the same room with them. It is the highlight of my day. Let me paint a picture for you of what happened yesterday when I got to FaceTime with the family.
My wife was the first person I saw, which is always a treat. On the one hand, FaceTime makes me miss her less. On the other, it makes me want to be there with her even more. She was sitting with Lucy, who had come home form school in the afternoon and immediately stripped down to just her diaper (her daily routine), and was still sitting in just a diaper. She looked up and saw me on my wife's phone, and her face immediately lit up. She started waving and then we spent a couple of minutes making faces at each other, one of our favorite games. Lucy is deaf like her older brother and older sister, so I signed a little bit to her, and then I finally spoke and said something to Erica. That's when I heard a noise of excitement from another child.
Up to that point, Maren had been unaware of the fact that I had been on the phone, but when she heard my voice, she was immediately front and center. When we FaceTime, she becomes a phone hog. She doesn't like to share the phone with anyone. She is the youngest, and doesn't have much to say. She just smiles and laughs while I talk to her. Or she shows me whatever it is that she was doing, whether it be reading a book (Frozen, she loves Olaf) or playing a game on the iPad. She can't wait to show me. Sometimes, she just takes the phone, and then lies down with it and just looks at me. Whatever she does, it is cute and it makes me happy that I can see her.
After we somehow got the phone from Maren, it was Jak's turn. I didn't get tot see Jake the night before, because he had already gone to bed. Sometimes, when he's tired, he just goes of by himself and goes to bed. It's kind of the coolest trick any of my kids knows how to do. Last night, he was awake though, and had plenty to say. He told me every single thing he did that day. Everything. What he ate, what he played, what he watched, all of it. Simply because I asked him what he did that day. He told me in every detail, as only Jak could.
Throughout all of this, one little head kept popping up behind everyone. Eliza. She was not-so-patiently waiting for her turn. Popping in and out of everyone else's conversation. She doesn't tell me what she did during the day, or what she ate, she likes to make me guess. She hasn't quite learned that usually when people say "Guess what...", they're just starting a conversation. No, she thinks you're really supposed to guess. Sometimes, my wife has told me in advance some of the answers, like what they had for dinner or what special thing she brought home from school. If not, then I have to really try to guess a couple of times before I get the answer. It's funny. Usually, our conversation goes until I start asking her about her homework, which is never finished by that point, so she decides it's someone else's turn.
It has been funny with Johnny. On this trip, he has seemed more interested in the FaceTime than ever, and honestly, more interested in talking to me. Last night he wanted to know all about my favorite food. The night before, it was all about dinosaurs. I also showed some pictures of the cable cars I get to ride up to my hotel each night, and a picture of Nob Hill so he could get some idea of what it is like here, and he thought that was cool. But we had a good conversation, and somehow, I think we were really bonding quite a bit, even thought we were hundreds of miles away.
After I spoke with the kids, I spoke a little bit with Erica, and it was nice. It always comes to the point when it is time to go. Neither of us wants to, but we have to. She has to get the kids in bed, I have to get myself in bed. It makes me sad to say good night, but all day today, I will be looking forward to coming back, eating a quick dinner by myself, and then connecting via FaceTime. It is the reason we have it, I am convinced, and the highlight of my day.
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