The Christmas Chat

Yesterday morning, after opening presents, I started to panic. What time was it???? I checked the time -- 9:05. Sigh of relief. I started to read a book to help the time pass. Then I panicked again -- what time was it? 9:33??? I was late for my 9:30 meeting! I dashed to the den to start video chatting with Jennie. After a few tries back and forth to get me part of the video chat group, there she was, along with the rest of my family in various locations!

And I think the first thing I heard came from Kiana -- "What did kids in the Middle Ages get for Christmas?"

"Bubonic plague."

. . . Yup. That's my family.

The thing was, with the world being as connected as it is, there wasn't a whole lot to update on. We get recordings and emails from Jennie and pictures and even videos from people in her ward. We keep tabs on each other via blogs and Facebook. So in terms of small talk, we ran out of stuff to say rather quickly.

To fill the time, we decided to act like ourselves -- goofy and random. I suppose that's what people mean when they talk about giving the gift of themselves. Here were a few quotes and stories from the 40 minute meeting:

"Sometimes people try and guess what Sister Rueckert's and my first names are. I try and convince them it's Dorcas, but no one has believed me yet." -Jennie

"Let's sing a Christmas carol. Like Dragon Tales." -Kaylie (she then started singing her own words to the song, which ended with something like "Ord eats a lot and he complains."

"What did the acorn want to be when he grew up? Geometree!" -my dad (maybe? I think I missed what was going on right then, so I don't think I got the joke right.)

Let's see, what else . . . Kaylie tried to have a game of Ghost going on the side chat bar. I was the only one who played, and we ended after the word was "dagger."

And then the Google Effects started, courtesy of Kaylie. She put a birthday hat on her head, so we followed suit.

Historically, Joseph hasn't liked Google Effects, but he ended up really liking it, which was an improvement over his typically stoic face for video chatting. We would sway in front of and behind each other to get the masks and monocles to float back and forth to each other. I don't know what normal families do when they talk to their missionaries, but it probably doesn't involve cat masks or really bad jokes. Like I said, there wasn't much to talk about.

So it was no surprise when the time ran out that it really felt like it was time to end. As Jennie said, "I would like to talk longer, but the mission president just said 40 minutes, so--"

"You are good, you are obedient, and so we will hang up with you now," said my mom. And just like that, the video chat was done.

See you on Mother's day, Jen!