For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers.
Slice of Life Challenge #21 Day 24: FaceTime Chats
"FaceTime soon?" Steve texts me.
"Yes please," I reply.
"Ready now?"
"Yup." I find myself giddy waiting for his call.
I hear the familiar FaceTime ringtone and accept his call.
This is a nightly ritual for my boyfriend and me, unless we are physically with each other.
We began dating towards the beginning of the pandemic. For the first two months of our relationship, we didn't see each other in person. Since we live in different towns and have a bit of distance between us, we tried to stay connected in whatever way we could. We tried phone calls, but my reception was awful. We tried Google Hangout, a little bit of WhatsApp, and landed on using FaceTime.
Over our daily FaceTime chat, we talk about our day, tell each other stories, and can even show each other what is happening at our respective homes. I like that I can see his facial expressions and hear the inflections in his voice. At times, when one of us is tired or has something going on, our chat is brief - sometimes only ten minutes. However, we can easily FaceTime for an hour or more. These moments make me feel like a swooning teen.
Throughout the year, there have been many examples when I had a rough day with school or other events. Connecting with Steve on Facetime almost always brightens my mood. Steve continuously makes me laugh and smile. I can be silly with him, yet we can share incredibly serious things. I feel listened to, respected, and loved. It's reassuring when I can hear his voice and see his face. He's usually the last person I see or talk with before I fall asleep.
In the past year, he has become my best friend. I believe that our video chats brought us closer together and helped us stay connected. I couldn't be more grateful.
What technology tools have you used to stay in touch with loved ones during the pandemic?
I started to write about FaceTime yesterday! I left it in draft, but now I'm inspired to get back to it. I absolutely loved reading about your relationship through this lens.
ReplyDelete❤️❤️❤️, particularly this: “I feel listened to, respected, and loved.“ I’m so happy you have this with Steve, Trina. Honestly, I mainly use my phone to call or text family, but I’ve face timed and Zoomed w/ friends.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy that you are happy. Your post put a smile on my face. :) He sounds like a great person.
ReplyDeleteAs for tech tools- one that might be different than the typical ones you might expect is GrandPad. It was invented for people struggle with technology. It is like an i-Pad but so much easier. Maybe I will write about that today. Thanks for the idea. Haha.
I am in awe of this lovely new relationship sustained by FaceTime in a pandemic, and how it brought you ad your boyfriend closer. This is such an inspiring story, Trina - so positive, so "overcoming" - and so it should be. Love does conquer all. Texting has been a lifeline for my people here.
ReplyDelete