{"id":41695,"date":"2013-09-25T07:58:16","date_gmt":"2013-09-25T12:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=41695"},"modified":"2013-09-25T08:05:23","modified_gmt":"2013-09-25T13:05:23","slug":"10-minute-phone-call-changed-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/09\/10-minute-phone-call-changed-day\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10-Minute Phone Call That Changed My Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"10-minute-phone-call\"<\/a>\u201cYou know, of the 10,080 minutes you have in a week, I sure am glad you spent 1\/1,000 talking to me,\u201d quipped my 87-year-old grandfather.<\/p>\n

The fact that I called him was a complete fluke. He\u2019s been on my mind for weeks. I\u2019ve wanted to call for longer than that, but I was busy. You know, raising five kids, running my own graphic design business, blogging, doing laundry, changing diapers, running carpool, making dinner\u2014busy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I can blame my stroke of luck on a local Christian radio station that announces a different name each morning and then encourages people to call in and share something about that person. Well, yesterday, that name was Jack. On the way to school the kids said, \u201cMom, you should totally call and tell them about Great Papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only did I call, but as I reflected upon my grandfather and his membership in the greatest generation, I found myself tearing up just a bit. I hung up the phone with the radio station and immediately dialed my grandfather. I could hear the surprise in his voice and picture his radiant smile. We chatted about errands, the kids, his great health, a fall trip to see him and how he\u2019s finally starting to figure out Facebook. Yes, he\u2019s 87 and has a Facebook account. Not only did he fly nearly three dozen missions as a tailgunner in WWII and lived to tell about it, but he logs onto social media every morning using his Kindle Fire. My goodness, I love that man.<\/p>\n

As the conversation wound down (he and my great grandmother had a bridge game to get to), I heard the pause on the phone. He always does this. Just before we end our conversations, he leaves a parting thought, a \u201cJack-ism\u201d I call them, for you to ponder. Today he reflected on time. How many minutes we have in a week and how remarkable it is that out of all those minutes, I took the time to call. \u201cIt made my day, honey,\u201d he said, his voice cracking a bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what I tell people? I\u2019m happy to be alive today. It\u2019s another day I get to live and today I got to talk to you,\u201d he reflected.<\/p>\n

I could feel the tear fall from my cheek. We shared \u201cI love you\u2019s\u201d and we headed back to our days. Yes, today was great because my very wise, very amazing grandfather reminded me that busy is a state of mind. What are you doing with your 1\/1,000th<\/sup> of a week?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cYou know, of the 10,080 minutes you have in a week, I sure am glad you spent 1\/1,000 talking to me,\u201d quipped my 87-year-old grandfather. The fact that I called him was a complete fluke. He\u2019s been on my mind for weeks. I\u2019ve wanted to call for longer than that, but I was busy. You… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[360,2890,1997,1998,210],"class_list":{"0":"post-41695","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"tag-busy","8":"tag-family","9":"tag-grandparents","10":"tag-reconnecting","11":"tag-relationships","12":"entry","13":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42575,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/11\/kind-life-creating\/","url_meta":{"origin":41695,"position":0},"title":"What Kind of Life Are You Creating?","author":"Kathryn Whitaker","date":"November 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"If people were to judge my life in random five-minute increments, I wonder what they would walk away thinking. Don\u2019t kid yourself, we\u2019ve all done it. To the mom in the grocery with the screaming baby. Well, that\u2019s what happens when you bring a baby to the store during naptime.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"tgiving_craft","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/tgiving_craft-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10775,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/02\/blame-it-on-the-catholic-school\/","url_meta":{"origin":41695,"position":1},"title":"Blame It on the Catholic School","author":"Rita Suva","date":"February 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"On Catholic School education: \u201cIt\u2019s like cement for a house. It\u2019s the foundation for your life to make good choices and to succeed. And it\u2019s a passport. It\u2019s a passport to Heaven that helps you to live the right life here on earth to get there [to Heaven].\u201d \u2013A parent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/358043mf8y5zq4q-300x199.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":40465,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/07\/five-minute-mystic\/","url_meta":{"origin":41695,"position":2},"title":"Five Minute Mystic","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"July 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Church remembers Our Lady of Mt. Carmel today, Patroness and Exemplar of the life of the Carmelite Order, which began on Mt. Carmel in Israel 800 years ago and is still with us now. We have received a great treasury of Saints, of wisdom on prayer, and the map\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Painting \"Our Lady of Mt. Carmel\" by Shawna Manning Marcontell","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/IMG_0186-e1372962250529-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":39967,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/06\/summer-is-for-living-enjoying-not-just-surviving-the-season-with-your-kids\/","url_meta":{"origin":41695,"position":3},"title":"Summer Is For Living: Enjoying (not just surviving) the Season with Your Kids","author":"Kathryn Whitaker","date":"June 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Whether your children go to school, stay at home or do a combination of the two, there is no doubt that summer brings a new schedule to the house. I mean, you can smell the chlorine, taste the ice cream and feel the heat, am I right? At our house,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"summer is for living","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/summer-is-for-living-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19234,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/07\/how-i-fail-at-summer\/","url_meta":{"origin":41695,"position":4},"title":"How I Fail At Summer","author":"Brandon Kraft","date":"July 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Summer! Finally! While kids haven't been in class for awhile, my wife has had to report to work until the beginning of this month. She has a month where, while she is working, she doesn't have to report to the office for work. It's great! She's home, our little girls\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13654,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/03\/pray-like-a-mom-not-a-nun\/","url_meta":{"origin":41695,"position":5},"title":"Pray Like a Mom, Not a Nun","author":"Kathryn Whitaker","date":"March 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Those wise words still echo in my head.\u00a0 They were spoken to me by the priest during confession several years ago.\u00a0 It was Lent and I\u2019d finally decided to get my act together and celebrate the Sacrament.\u00a0 In preparation, though, I had been beating myself up about my lack of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/luke_mom5_bw-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41695\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}