Friday 11 November 2022

Give us 3 rings when you're home

Does anyone remember doing this?

My parents used to do this after a long drive from visiting relatives. Dial their number from the landline and let it ring three times to indicate they had arrived home safely to save the cost of an expensive phone call.

My husband remembers a time before landlines in the house where his mum would call her mum, phone box to phone box at a set time and date and make arrangements to meet somewhere the following week.

No contact was had in-between.

Nowadays we check in at airports on Facebook, we WhatsApp, text, call and message to say we're leaving home, on our way and almost there. 

My parents would ask me to 'give us 3 rings' when I got home from visiting, but they'd also ask us to let them know when we arrived after a long journey on holiday or to visit other people, so they knew we were safe on the roads and then again when we arrived home. I found this weird, we weren't leaving their house, why did we have to let them know where we were all the time?

We do ask our kids to let us know when they've got home after leaving us and out of courtesy they do message to say they're on their way also, but they don't expect us to do it, they don't ask us to. I think they just assume we will do it and that's why we ask them.

So on the weekend, we didn't check in to the airport on Facebook or message to say we were on our way or had arrived and we turned up at child 4's house at 9am on Saturday morning to 'when did you get here?' followed by child 2 messaging the following to day with 'assume you got back safely'


6 comments:

  1. Ahh! I remember the three rings! My great Aunt would always make us do it when we left her house. We always laughed at her being a worrier but I am the same now. I always get my girls to text me when they've got somewhere or are coming home so I know where they are. x

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    1. I think our kids will just do it without realising why

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  2. We still do it with my parents - though invariably they pick up now as the distance is much further! My brother has migrated to a message on facebook messenger, but it's always just giving you three rings! #PoCoLo

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    1. I think we'll all be doing this till the end of time

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  3. I remember doing this with my parents as well! #pocolo

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