Making the Call

I have been meaning to call my aunt for weeks, maybe even months, and today, before I sat down to review the material for my debut science classes tomorrow, I took a deep breath and stretched my arm out to reach for my phone. As I tapped on her contact, I knew she wouldn't be mad-- she hasn't called me either-- but I missed our connection and regretted not reaching out sooner.

She didn't answer her cell, so I left a message and then dialed the number I knew by heart, the one she has had my entire life, and she picked up on the first ring. Oh! What a pleasure it was to hear her voice and spend time catching up. When I told her about my sub gig, she made me promise to send updates. "Kids are so different today!" the long-time middle school secretary lamented.

"I don't think they're that much different than last year when I was teaching!" I answered, and we laughed, acknowledging that at least that much hasn't been radically altered in the last few months.

Before we hung up, we promised to do a better job of keeping in touch in the future, and when I set my phone down, I breathed easy, because that promise didn't feel like a stretch at all.