Ring Ring! How Do I Answer this Thing?

When you live away from the people you love, you have to find a way to stay connected to them.  Thankfully, there’s a wonderful invention called Video-Chatting.  I first used this technology when Bill and I were extreme-long-distance dating for a year and a half.  We set up our computers and pretended we were actually next to each other.  We talked for hours, played games and even watched movies together using the computer.

Now it is my parents to whom we need to stay connected.  My parents are mildly-technologically-challenged. 

Example A: My father didn’t have a facebook page until this past summer.  I had to set it up for him against his will because he kept sneaking into my mother’s page and then emailing my sister and me about our posts.  “See?  Now you can just comment right here!” 

“But won’t other people see?!?!” 

“Oh my…”

Example B: Every time we chat my parents struggle to figure out how to make their side of the conversation show up on the screen.  “Find the video button. Mom.” “Push the video button, Dad.”  “Nana!  Pop!  PUSH THE VIDEO BUTTON!”  For goodness sakes, Skype, could you make that button bigger?  And possibly labeled “PUSH THIS?”

The only thing standing in the way of a meaningful conversation with my parents on the computer is that the kids can also see THEMSELVES, a source of constant entertainment.  The children mainly use video chat to make insane noises and to examine their tonsils. I’m not sure why the video screen turns my children into complete lunatics, but for some reason, they feel the need to dance, scream, pretend to be wild animals and stand on their heads.  They rarely actually speak English on Skype, preferring instead to laugh maniacally or babble incoherently. 

We have used the video-chat for more specific things as well.  We often light Shabbat candles together with the aide of the computer screen.  We also open our holiday gifts and sing Happy Birthday and let my parents watch the kids eat cake.  My kids often use video to show my parents their latest art project or school project.  On more than one occasion, my mother has used Skype to give me an apple pie tutorial or talk me through cooking one of her famous dishes.  I use video-chat to ask important questions that need visuals:  Do you think this is chicken pox?  What do you think of this new wallpaper border for the kitchen?  Does this blouse go with these pants?

Lighting the Hannukah Candles with Nana and Pop - Levi trying to decide if we're interesting enough to keep his eyes off the computer.

Nope.

 

My mom also leads a weekly Hebrew School session with the kids.  By moving to South Dakota, we almost doubled the Jewish population in our town and for many of our friends, we are the only Jewish people they know.  Even Bill, Brianna, Gabby and Levi had never met a Jewish person before us.   So, obviously, there is no formal Hebrew School here.  (That is..until I start one.  In my free time.)  My mother, being the Education Director at the temple we left behind in Boston, uses the same lesson plans with Sam, Emily and Hannah that she uses with her students back home. Everything is more fun with Nana and Pop…even Hebrew School.  The video-chatting part helps, and sometimes they even stop looking at themselves long enough to get some work done.

Video-Chatting also provides opportunities for great surprises!  Once we turned it on to find the children’s Great-Grandparents in the picture, and once their aunt!   My parents, in turn, have been surprised by children falling out of chairs, dogs and hamsters being placed on the table in order to be in the picture, and by views of me in the background, gratefully toasting the few minutes of alone time the grandparents have given me.

Now we’re even graduating to the next level of technological advances – we’ve downloaded video-chatting onto our iphones and now Nana and Pop can even watch soccer games! (They’re ever-so-thrilled.)

 

Copyright © Jody Hoffman 2011

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Pat]

thanks for not posting a caption for that last picture

[Emily O.]

I have very fond memories of Hebrew School with you. Although, I think as we got older, we were more interested in finding excuses to sneak out of class and get up to mischief. So funny how the tables turn - now you have *6* little mischief makers! :-)