Ringing Phones and Interruptions

When I was growing up, my dad remodeled the kitchen and moved the phone from the bay window in the dining room to the kitchen wall, just inside the living room doorway. For a long time, my mother had a chair and a small table directly under the phone so she could sit down and talk because it was impossible to continue working while sharing conversation with someone or listening in on the party line.

When the phone rang, there was no other option than to answer because the phone call was important. Even though the person on the other end of the line had just interrupted life, the meatloaf would wait, the dust would remain on the table a bit longer, the stove burner would be turned off, the discussion would resume later, or a portion of The Waltons would be missed. (No option to record or pause.)

What if we still treated interruptions as a welcomed part of our day or our life? It seems the frustration of being sidelined dominates our emotions and thoughts, sometimes causing us to lose sight of our true mission.

Lately, my family, like many others, has encountered several major interruptions to our lives: a traumatic accident, illness, unexpected early birth, financial crisis, etc. I have to admit there have been times I focused on the inconvenience and pain rather than the opportunity provided. However, if I exam each interruption and spend time searching for something good buried deep in the middle of the event, I begin to realize how the interruption adds to my life, my character, or my mission.

I love the fact that the ringing of the telephone was a significant part of Creating Futures: The Life Story of Richard Aguilera Ruiz. Each time the ringing was silenced with the spoken, “Hello,” Richard’s life was altered in some way. Each of our life interruptions alters our lives either with grief, joy, annoyance, pain, or affirmation. While we prefer joy and affirmation, there is a lot of character building that comes from experiencing grief, annoyance, and pain. As we see in Creating Futures, small moments heralded by the ringing of the phone are not necessary trivial.

What life-changing moments happened to you after answering a phone call?