Insights: I don't want to admit to having made a mistake, showing poor judgment, or taking action before thinking through the ramifications. But I did, and therefore spent a few hours tonight working to resolve it. The issue has been the landline at my mom's house. She's had that phone number since 1971, and at this stage, 90 % of the calls are solicitors. It's routine to visit and witness her respond to the ringing, as we all used to respond way before answering machines and caller ID came about. Long before cell phones became an integral part of our culture, you could function without one when making dinner reservations or authenticating your identity on commerce websites. Not anymore. And nobody from her generation seems able to let a call go unanswered. She is incapable of overcoming that reflex response. It's painful to witness her making the effort to walk to the phone only to say "not interested" and hang up. I have given her a cell phone, which I pay for, and thus she has a mobile device and an associated Apple Watch with fall detection and access to emergency services. We have frequently discussed abandoning the landline, yet she has clung to it as the only option should the power go out. We recently discussed her expenses, and I realised that she was spending almost twice what I spend on her cell phone for the landline. She had, at one time, the discounted rate for low-income seniors, but for some reason I have not identified yet, that lapsed. She agreed that it was time to let that go, and I took immediate action. I contacted ATT, killed it off and went over to ensure her cell phone was configured to be as easy and simple as possible. Did I mention she just finished chemo yesterday? And did I also mention how she routinely goes through a few days of 'brain fog' following those? Yeah, well, I guess I forgot to consider that when taking these steps. I was 'in the flow' but quickly realized I was flooding her senses by introducing something new to learn. My bad. I did, however, do a great job of setting things up very cleanly, with a simplified home screen and minimal 'noise' beyond one-tap calling options. Still, it's simply not the right time and caused her more confusion than good. I'll check in tomorrow and perhaps reinstate the landline so it's less of an abrupt change and more of a migration.
Friday, August 01, 2025
Insights: I don't want to admit to having made a mistake, showing poor judgment, or taking action before thinking through the ramifications. But I did, and therefore spent a few hours tonight working to resolve it. The issue has been the landline at my mom's house. She's had that phone number since 1971, and at this stage, 90 % of the calls are solicitors. It's routine to visit and witness her respond to the ringing, as we all used to respond way before answering machines and caller ID came about. Long before cell phones became an integral part of our culture, you could function without one when making dinner reservations or authenticating your identity on commerce websites. Not anymore. And nobody from her generation seems able to let a call go unanswered. She is incapable of overcoming that reflex response. It's painful to witness her making the effort to walk to the phone only to say "not interested" and hang up. I have given her a cell phone, which I pay for, and thus she has a mobile device and an associated Apple Watch with fall detection and access to emergency services. We have frequently discussed abandoning the landline, yet she has clung to it as the only option should the power go out. We recently discussed her expenses, and I realised that she was spending almost twice what I spend on her cell phone for the landline. She had, at one time, the discounted rate for low-income seniors, but for some reason I have not identified yet, that lapsed. She agreed that it was time to let that go, and I took immediate action. I contacted ATT, killed it off and went over to ensure her cell phone was configured to be as easy and simple as possible. Did I mention she just finished chemo yesterday? And did I also mention how she routinely goes through a few days of 'brain fog' following those? Yeah, well, I guess I forgot to consider that when taking these steps. I was 'in the flow' but quickly realized I was flooding her senses by introducing something new to learn. My bad. I did, however, do a great job of setting things up very cleanly, with a simplified home screen and minimal 'noise' beyond one-tap calling options. Still, it's simply not the right time and caused her more confusion than good. I'll check in tomorrow and perhaps reinstate the landline so it's less of an abrupt change and more of a migration.