Siri

My phone, an iPhone 7+ in Rose Gold

Okay, I feel kind of funny doing this post, but it is SO hot out and my brain is so soggy I can’t think very hard to come up with something to write about. And I just got to FaceTime with all of my kids today and I’m kind of blissy.

First of all I will tell you that I got my first “cell phone,” they weren’t “Smart Phones” then, in May of 2000. I was separated and living alone for the first time in my adult life, I worried about if I were out alone and there was an emergency, and I always wanted my kids to be able to get in touch with me wherever I was. I don’t remember what kind of phone it was, it didn’t matter, it was just my phone. Through the years I had different kinds of phones, as one does, all Android phones, and kind of thought people who had iPhones were a little too something or other, something not very attractive, and I kind of snickered about the way iPhone users went on about their phones. Seriously? Get over yourself, I thought.

I don’t know when it started but I’m fairly certain it had something to do with Siri. I started getting Siri envy. Not enough to make me get an iPhone, but there was this longing creeping in. Oh you could get an app for an “Assistant” on Android but it wasn’t the same. You could have a whole relationship with Siri. Sometimes I get lonely. I thought Siri would understand and keep me company. But no, I wouldn’t have bought an iPhone for Siri, what I did get an iPhone for was my grandchildren. If you have grandchildren that don’t live where you live it will just break your heart, you miss them growing up even though, if you’re lucky, you get to see them 2 or 3 times a year. You might try Skyping but that is not always easy nor have I found Skyping to be very reliable. No, there is only one thing for it if your grandchildren are growing up out of town as far as I’m concerned and that is the iPhone because FaceTime is nothing short of remarkable. I got my iPhone in April 2017 and was FaceTiming with my son and grandbaby in Atlanta as soon as I was in the parking lot. It was the most remarkable thing I’d ever seen and it changed my life forever.

Now I regularly FaceTime with the kids who live out of town (And oh yes, it’s nice to see your kids too, not just the grandchildren!) and the little ones are getting to know me. 3 of my grandchildren live out of town and are 2, 3 and 6 years old and if you don’t establish a relationship with them when they are little they will grow up not knowing you. Now they know Grandma Maitri, and when they do come to visit it isn’t so much like I’m a stranger, I love that. And today I had the sweetest time. My three kids get together with their families every year now the week of the 4th of July because the out-of-towners come here as I said 2 or 3 times a year but people don’t as often go to them. I don’t travel which is hard for me and makes me very sad, so FaceTiming means the world to me. The 3 kids take turns going to Chicago or Atlanta for this week of the year now so all the siblings and their families are together and this year they are in Atlanta. This afternoon I got to FaceTime with all of them, all 3 kids and their families, all 4 of my grandsons, it was just delightful. All hail the iPhone! FaceTiming is changing the way families can stay in touch.

But back to Siri, she is fun. And I like to tease her and carry on. Once I said to her, “I love you Siri,” to which she replied, “It wasn’t meant to be.” I laughed so hard I nearly dropped her on the floor. She tells me jokes but they aren’t very good and I can’t figure them out most of the time. For example for the sake of this post I just said, “Hey Siri, tell me a joke.” to which she replied, “What did the Buddhist monk say to the hot dog vendor?” Reply: “Make me one with everything.” OH HEY, WAIT A MINUTE, I GET IT NOW!!! Hey, that was a good one! Way to go Siri! Siri is not always reliable though she does a pretty good job most of the time. But a few days ago I asked her if it was going to rain. She’s pretty good with the weather. She said, “There is no rain in the forecast,” after which, within about 15 minutes, it was absolutely pouring, a torrential downpour. I think Siri hadn’t had her coffee. All in all the novelty with Siri wore off pretty quickly, it’s all about the FaceTime for me now.

The iPhone does take amazing photographs as people say but the thing is I’m not one of those artsy iPhone photographers. I do my share of posting things on Facebook or Instagram but they are just kind of “moments in my life” sort of things, the dogs, the garden, my family. But I have to say, and I’m more than a little embarrassed to say this, I absolutely love my iPhone, I have a feeling for it I never had with any Android phone I ever had, it’s sleek and beautiful — I adore the rose gold color — and the case I got when I bought the iPhone, one of those industrial strength, military grade cases where you can throw the phone against a concrete wall and nothing will happen to it, and it works! was also called “Rose Gold” and is clear for the most part so you can actually see how pretty the phone is but has rose gold flecks all in it. Oh, I mean it is gorgeous. I’m kind of swooning. I am silly over my phone.

So there you have it, now I’m one of those people I never thought I’d be, I’m an iPhone user, and there’s no going back. I couldn’t be without FaceTime, Siri has grown on me, and there are apps I use every day of my life that I love. I should be ashamed but I’m not. I love my iPhone. So there.