The call yesterday was a little like this: we had Erin on Skype in Idaho already anticipating the calls. When the little Skype notification popped up that Kegan was now online there were cheers both here and in Idaho, Bayley (whose mission does Skype at Christmas with phone calls only for Mother's Day) called in shortly thereafter and we put the phone on speaker close to the computer so she could hear and be heard, Rhys was the last to check in after some desperate Facebook messaging between me and the brother in Argentina whose home Rhys was Skyping from. The process of instant messaging when it involves the extra step of translation via the not very dependable, but better than nothing, Google Translate, becomes not so 'instant' as I really needed it to be in this situation. But, it worked out and we soon had Erin, Kegan and Rhys's faces on our tv screen and Bayley's voice over the house phone. It was chaos. And it was wonderful.
Fionn wanted everyone to see her new necklace and kept dangling it in front of the computer, Rhys wanted a picture with his TMNT cup and his family, Bayley just desperately wanted to be part of the Skype call but had to make do with whatever commentary I could provide of the onscreen action and just hearing and being heard. That onscreen action included the flag of Chile being prominently displayed behind Kegan at one point, which was followed up by an Argentinian flag appearing behind Rhys and then suddenly Kegan was being outfitted with a soccer jersey. Food kept appearing in front of Rhys as the family whose home he was at kept serving him and food was being prepared behind Kegan, occasionally loudly. And both were conversing in Spanish with one another and the families on their ends. If Kegan or Rhys felt they couldn't be heard, they would type, usually very loudly. Erin and Kegan's video kept freezing up, Kegan's was actually completely blank much of the time, but we could still hear him....or at least hear his typing. There were at least 3 conversations going on at once at any given time and most people were involved in at least two of them. So, it was pretty much like things always were when they were all at home. Crazy, loud and a little confusing but also so much fun.
And then one by one they each had to go....first Bayley, then Kegan, then Rhys and we won't get to talk like this again until Christmas. And the thing with those calls is that when they end... it is a lot like putting them each on their planes all over again. And you miss them so bad when that call goes silent and their voices and faces are missing from your home again. Someone has said to me in the past that they cannot understand how Mormon parents can send their children off on missions for the church and "without a thought" commit to an 18 month to 2 year separation during which we communicate almost exclusively by weekly emails or letters, with phone calls only on Christmas and Mother's Day. Well I can assure you, it is not done "without a thought," but is indeed a great, consciously made, sacrifice on the parts of the missionaries themselves, their parents and their siblings. We all miss them every single minute of every day. But we also know that they are engaged in a very worthwhile work, in fact that there is none greater, and that our sacrifice is a great blessing to so many in Texas and Louisiana and Argentina and Chile.
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| Our Mother's Day call...Bayley is the phone, Erin is pretty washed out, but that is she, Kegan is sporting a soccer jersey over his shirt and tie, Rhys has an Argentinian flag draped over his shoulder |
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| And this was our Christmas call in December, Erin was at home with us for this one, and Bayley was allowed to Skype. |
