Ick, the Phone

I hate the phone and avoid it whenever possible. I would much rather send a text or email, because they're so much quicker. However, Miss Laynie wants to practice her phone skills, so I usually talk to her twice a day: when I get to work and on my way home. It's kind of hard, because she obviously doesn't hear very well, and her speech is difficult to understand. It's not like I can just say anything. Plus, there's a rhythm that has to be learned, like the right amount of time to pause. But given those considerations and because she always has the context for what I'm going to say (like she knows I've just gotten to work), we can have a reasonably productive conversation, like:

Hello.

Hi.

Hi.

I'm at Waverly.

Okay. Have fun.

Okay.

Bye.

Bye.

Fun times. I think she got motivated to use the phone after we spent an evening creating ringtones for her. She wanted to hear the awesome tunes she had chosen! Her ringtones are clips from:

-Halo (Beyonce)

-Rhythm is Gonna Get You (Gloria Estefan, a longtime Laynie favorite)

-Come Home (Sara Bareilles verse of the OneRepublic song)

-Saltwater Room (Owl City)

Varied, no?

This week, Laynie has tried to ask me a question or say something different while we're on the phone. Like I said, she's pretty hard to understand, but it helps that she understands a few words pretty reliably (at least from me--maybe not if other people spoke). She always recognizes yes, no, ok, and what. And hello, hi, and bye. Seriously, "what" is the best word for her to understand. I think it was on Monday that we had this conversation (Sister Fife, get your hankie):

Laynie: Hello Annie! (caller ID, ha)

Me: Hi.

Laynie: Hi.

Me: I'm coming home.

Laynie: jreantuwpioptvycoqhwtpgoghspo

Me: What?

Laynie: rhesbiahotsgu

Me: What? (then realized right after I said "what" that she had asked how long--slow auditory processing for me!)

Laynie: How long?

Me: Ten minutes.

Laynie: Ten minutes?

Me: Ten minutes, yes.

Laynie: Okay! See you soon.

Me: Yes.

Laynie: Bye.

Me: Bye.

Oh, and the other rule about conversations with Laynie is that she's the one who hangs up. It just works best that way.

Now, don't get too excited that she understood me. For every time she understands (or guesses well), there are a dozen times that she doesn't.

Ha! Speak of the devil. She just called me to say she's coming home from work. Crazy, phone-loving girl!