Who is this?” a giggly pre-school voice answers the phone. In the background I can hear incoming footsteps — the Doppler effect — and “Oh, honey, give me the phone, right now. I mean it.” in a desperate, teeth-gritted voice. Then, over the hand-covered mouthpiece, there is the muffled sound of Charlie Brown’s teacher, “Mwmm wmmmw mww!” Finally, a breathless, “Thank you for calling Speedy Plumbing, may I help you?”
I just bust up laughing! I know exactly what this mother is going through. We commiserate for a moment, sharing stories. We are schizophrenic — flipping from “mom” to “career woman” at the sound of a phone ringing.