Incommunicado

Last week, the rules about communication with my immediate family changed. I think it happened after my last doctor's appointment, when I eagerly called everyone and told them the doctor thought I could go into labor any day now.

Suddenly, my phone calls "just to chat" were no longer welcome. The person on the other end of the line would invariably answer with nearly hysterical excitement in her voice. But as soon as I said I wasn't in labor, the excitement was gone.

Now, no one wants to actually talk to me. They just want to hear that I'm in labor and they should hurry over to the hospital. The ironic part is this only afflicts immediate family—the people that would actually get the call to come to the hospital for the birth. I'm still allowed to call other people just to catch up, it's just those closest to me that find the sound of my non-laboring voice so very disappointing.

So I've stopped calling people over the past few days. If my mom or sisters want to find out how I'm doing, I let them call me. Which is another way that the rules have changed. Normally, I don't feel the need to rush and answering a ringing phone. If I'm in a store, I send it to voicemail. Or if I'm in the middle of something, I might wait and see who is calling and give him a call back at a more convenient time.

But those days are long gone. Because now, if Keith or I don't answer the phone, I feel certain that the caller will immediately jump to the conclusion that we're engaged in much more important activities. Like having a baby.

So I make hardly any outgoing calls. But I obsessively answer all incoming ones. I'm guessing this will be the new routine until I actually have reason to make The Call.