I talk to her every day – more frequently than ever
Photo by Joseph Chan on Unsplash
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the whole world. According to WHO, over 6.5 million people died. Everybody’s lives have been disrupted. The news in every media is full of tragedy.
Here I dare focus on the silver lining. How many can I find in my life?
…
I love my mother, but ever since I moved out for college, I seldom called home.
Especially, since I moved to the US, communication between us became sporadic. In those days international calls were expensive, and I was too lazy to write a letter. Only after Internet phones became prevalent, I started calling her a little more often. Skype was great!
When I went back to Japan four or five years ago, I bought her an iPad as present. I taught her how to use Line, a popular app among Japanese people.
She doesn’t quite know what a browser is, but at least she learned that by clicking a link I send, she can access YouTube videos. I would occasionally send her a link to a video of old Japanese singers. (Misora Hibari and Murata Hideo are her favorites.) Or it would be Bunraku puppet theater plays.
She would text me how much she enjoyed watching those videos. Our communication via Line, however, was not more than once or twice a week.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“Your mother is 82 years old, and she is living alone. How can you not get in touch with her at least once a day? What if she falls or stops beathing? Who would know if she is alive or not?”
A friend of mine who is in the similar situation scolded me for my lack of consideration. She is absolutely right.
It has become our daily ritual. My mother sends me a text message every morning. (she is live today!) I call her to start a video chat. For some reason she can never pick up my video chat. My call is canceled. But right after that she calls me, and a video chat starts.
Our conversation is nothing special. “What did you eat for lunch today?” Or “where did you go for a walk?” Sometimes she takes her iPad when she goes out to lunch with my cousin’s family who live nearby. I get to talk to all of them.
I get to see my mother’s face and hearing her voice every day, although we live thousands of miles apart. Technology was already out there, but I never took fully advantage of it before.
That’s all thanks to the pandemic.
…
What’s your silver lining?