Some of our kids have taken to calling while they are in transit. It may be a voice call while on a commute to work, or walking between home and the gym. Other times it is a video chat, when that is convenient. In any case it is a charming way to be in touch. It is not fueled by an urgent message, just a way for me to keep
them company.
I have a fondness for the chats that happened many years ago while I was chauffeuring, with the child who had successfully called out "Shot gun!" which laid claim to the front passenger's seat. I have no idea who made up that rule, but it was never challenged. With his or her siblings tucked safely in back, it was easier to hold mom's attention, or at least the
brain cells not already occupied with reading street signs. I admit that such focus was not always available in a family with a pack of kids, and they grabbed the opportunity to monopolize the conversation. Sometimes it was the setting for their most poignant thoughts. They asked me burning questions as if I knew anything.
But now that they all do their own driving, or biking,
or public transportation, we have had to improvise. This tactic of calling mom to ease the monotony of traffic is sweet.
It seems symbolic to me. My adult children are navigating their own careers, and relationships, and parenting, and while I am no longer the one who ferries them to their goal, I can be a companion.