Down with the kids

Welcome to the inaugural - Down with the kids - guest blog! Mrs July is Bel, a mother of 2, with her very own Big Bro (20 months) and Little Sis (5 months)! She also has a career stored away somewhere in the freezer next to all that breast milk!

At the moment she is immersed in life down with the kids, as Maxwell Smart would say……and loving it!

Take it away Bel:

Whose husband goes over the phone bill in minute detail? We used to have a wizz bang deal where by I could talk and talk and talk all day for $3 capped anywhere in Australia, per call. The old days for charged long distance calls were gone. Hip hip hooray. This was liberating and, at will, I called all over Australia for glorious unlimited periods, and could never be accused of not staying in touch. I would chat and chat and chat and take advantage of baby’s nap times.

I think the phone company must have been losing too much money on this. Were Mums all over Australia calling long distance while their beautiful babies were asleep? Apparently so, as the phone company recently wrote to us and explained that the deal above mentioned had been discontinued in exchange for free local calls. Well, the problem arose because, being the modern woman, I do not really need to call local very often. I don’t need free local calls. I questioned some more. Who do I call locally? Most people I need to call for service provision in an emergency have that wonderful 1800/1300 prefix. Its free. We love 1800 or 1300 or 1whatever… I call no one locally very often (with the exception of my mother-in-law).

Bear in mind I am in Sydney. In fact, I need to call Tasmania for my mother, Melbourne for my best friend, Brisbane for my father, Townsville for my sister, the Gold Coast for my dearest and oldest friend, Canberra for my brother and Perth for my other brother. So I was a big user of the above mentioned offer. I am sure I am solely responsible for the losses that led to this great deal’s demise.

My very own DSO received the next phone bill, post abolition of the great capped deal that was gone forever. Being one to watch the spending (as am I), he went over it with a fine tooth comb. He said “There is a call for 86 minutes to Melbourne that cost $15. How can anyone talk for 86 minutes to the same person?”. He was quite incredulous that anyone could actually speak for a continuous period of 86 minutes.

I think it is a “guy” thing. They generally so not chat so long, either on the phone or in person. Well, let me explain. When you are home all day with a 20 month old and a 5 month old and you are sick of saying “poo poo”, “toot toot goes Thomas Tank Engine”, and “no”, that 86 minute phone call to the best friend seems like a very attractive option. There is so much to discuss. Even natural pauses in conversation assume meaning and offer an outlet of solace.

So how can we further justify $15 on an 86 minute telephone call? If I were to go to the office in the city, like I did before the babies everyday, I would arrive to spend $2.50 (at least) on a soy flat white. Then at lunch time, I would cruise the nearest foodhall for a caesar salad or some appropriate low fat sandwich and a bottled water for a grand total of about $10. If I were working late, I would then require another coffee for at least $2.50. I think I have spent my $15 already on just getting through the work day. Not to mention that if I were not at home looking after 2 babies, in that short 86 minutes I spent gabbing away, I could certainly shop with the best of them to incur a shopping bill in the order of $500 at my favourite retail outlet.

So, I was then able to convince DSO that $15 on an 86 minute phone call was in fact a saving. The truth of the matter is that once the phone bill came in, I was very distressed at the prospect of not being able to talk freely for a capped amount. I am also sure this takes me back to my lawyer days of 6 minute units for everything. I do not want to be timed, nor do my children and nor do my phone calls. Bring back the capped long distance calls!!!!