The Mother Of All Phone Calls

When I was a little girl, my days revolved around helping my mother fold the laundry, playing dress up in her clothes, and watching the soap opera ‘All My Children’. Sometimes I even used to ‘fake’ being sick, just so that I could stay home from school, to walk around in my mother’s purple high-heeled Candie shoes.

Ah, yes, the good ole’ days.

Back when all I had to worry about was choosing an ‘Outfit’ for my Cabbage Patch Doll, Francesca.

Of course, back then there was no such thing as a cell phone.

Or even a cordless phone for that matter.

However, we did have one telephone, located in the kitchen, colored Avocado green, that had a seemingly never-ending cord. Seriously. You could walk laps around the house, while talking on that phone.

Now, while I don’t have very many vivid childhood memories, I can clearly remember trying to interrupt MY OWN MOTHER, on the phone, looking, walking, talking, and acting, EXACTLY like the person in the video below.

And it makes me laugh.

Every. Single. Time.

* So tell me people…

1. Was your mother ever like that?

Or…

2. Have you ever been like that mother?

And…

3. Did anyone else, have that kitchen phone?

About Meleah

Mother. Writer. Television Junkie. Pajama Jean Enthusiast.
This entry was posted in Family, Humor, Links, MeleVision, Videos. Bookmark the permalink.

89 Responses to The Mother Of All Phone Calls

  1. HA!!

    Oh, cool. What are you working on, StarTraci.
    If you don’t mind me asking?

  2. I’m totally getting one for my bedroom!

  3. Oh, I definitely still walk/talk too, Selma!

  4. Ah yes, gotta love a good cackle laugh!

  5. Anonymous says:

    I’m a little older than you are.   We had one black rotary dial phone in the living room and I don’t think I ever remember my Mom being on it for more than a few minutes.   I think she liked to gossip in person.  So, my Mom was never like that AND we never had that phone.

    I have certainly never been like that mother … she does sound a bit like my daughter on the phone, however.

  6. Lucy says:

    OH, MY GOD!  Talk about going back in time!  Loved it and I could so relate!

  7. Ha ha!  Back in the day, our telephone wires were not curly and only 4 or 5ft long, though the phone was in our kitchen. My mum almost lived in the kitchen so it was the best place for the phone.  later we got the curly wires and they were even shorter!  If you walked too far the phone would come crashing down because they didn’t stretch very well.

  8. Porkstar says:

    Well, growing up in South America 30 years ago wasn’t exactly a place where many people could afford a cordless phone. At home, we only had ONE phone and my grandma used to hide it after 6pm, so no one would call us and no one would attempt to make a phone call. That was the time she sent my little cousins to bed. So yeah, it wasn’t exactly like the video. It was completely opposite and totally different and scary, with grandma threatening to disconnect the phone once and for all.

  9. Really? Oh that’s funny, Babs!
    Why did you have such short phone cords?

  10. Ahahhahahhha! I’m sorry, but that is hilarious to me!
    You know you crack me up, Sergio!

  11. Anonymous says:

    holy shit that was outstanding!

    that was SO my house growing up.  Our cord to our kitchen phone could lap the entire upstairs and still be attached to the phone!

  12. Ahahahahha! You too , Slyde?!

  13. moooooog35 says:

    Jesus. How old ARE you?!

  14. We totally had that kitchen phone!! I even wrapped the cord around my brothers’ necks a few times. They deserved it…

    My mom was really put together, so she would never be caught dead vacuuming and yakking on the phone. She did one or the other, and in between, she directed her six children to get their asses off the couch and get busy cleaning. Idle hands and all that. 

    I, on the other hand, did similar multitasking. I’d hate to hear what my kids have to say about that. At least I had my clothes on. Most of ’em.

  15. Linda R. says:

    Growing up we had two rotary phones, one in the den and one in my parents’ room.  When I was a teenager I got one for my room.

    The video is hysterical, but no one in our household ever did that.  I may multitask on the phone when I’m fixing dinner and hubby calls, but otherwise I don’t talk on the phone much.

  16. 36. Yes, I’m old.

  17. Six kids? Holy crap. I would die.

  18. These days, I am NOT a huge phone talker. But I am a mad texter!

  19. Sandra says:

    First of all, I AM that mother. Second of all, your post made me miss that long cord that you could walk lapse around the house with. And third of all, you are such a sweetie, pretending to have neglected us. You so have never neglected us. You and Linda are the most supportive bloggers out there! Now, do tell, what is this writing project you’re involved in. Sounds exciting!!!

  20. Sandra says:

    First of all, I AM that mother. Second of all, your post made me miss that long cord that you could walk lapse around the house with. And third of all, you are such a sweetie, pretending to have neglected us. You so have never neglected us. You and Linda are the most supportive bloggers out there! Now, do tell, what is this writing project you’re involved in. Sounds exciting!!!

  21. Oh Sandra! I love you.
    And, I try my best to be supportive!

    I’m trying to write a book.
    And it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to do.

  22. Silverneurotic says:

    I love how there’s a cordless phone right there next to the corded one. But no, i can’t say my mother was ever like that.

  23. THE SNEE says:

    Yes! Yes! Yes! We had THAT phone! I would have to add little children running around, screaming, and getting tangled in the cord to the above photo. As for crazy May days, my June is no better! Perhaps July will settle out, but lately blogging has taken a back seat. I hope your writing project is going well, and because I’ve been out of the loop, I’m just hearing about your car accident. No one was hurt, I hope. Be well.

  24. jessica says:

    I try to interrupt my siblings’ phone calls ALL the time. Usually, I’ll hover in the background saying something like “boobs” five times in a row.

    That is, until they completely flip out on me. 😉

    http://www.lemons-dont-make-lemonade.blogspot.com

  25. Anne says:

    I remember the phone with the long wire.  And then, every once in a while, you would stretch it too far and it would sling shot back to the base, taking out anything in its way.

  26. Anonymous says:

    I took on a summer teaching gig so I have been preparing for that — and it’s out of town! AARGH! Also, I am in a big purge mode. I am trying to acknowledge the size of the apartment in which we live and actually learn to “fit” in it. Crazy thought, I know.

    🙂
    Traci

  27. Aw… Well, that’s just cuz you’re so young!

  28. Thanks, Snee.

    You rock!

  29. OMFG!! YES!! Total boomerang!

  30. territerri says:

    OMG! Hahahahaha! That was my mom! And I hate to admit it, but THAT was ME too, years ago. When my kids were little and my best friend was in the same stage of life and we were at home ALL day long, there were times we would spend HOURS on the phone, cleaning, refereeing kids and such. Having someone to talk to on the phone was the BEST when we had chores to get done. It made the time pass.

    And yes, in my early years, I did have a corded phone with an insanely long cord. Luckily, the cordless phone soon came along. 

  31. Noemi Ruth says:

    The downside of growing up in the province in a developing country – landlines/home phones were practically non-existent where we lived.  We had a cell phone before we had a landline.  Interestingly enough, my mom was never into phone calls but now, she can’t be seen without her cell phone – texting well into the middle of the night!

  32. I am a mad texter too.

  33. Madge says:

    We had a 50 foot cord on our “big button” phone so I could drag it upstairs to talk. Before that we had a pink and a turquoise rotary.

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