Thursday, March 20, 2008

Another Step In My Descent To Crotchety Old Ladyhood

Dear Sister,

Apparently my complaints about Eli's nighttime feedings and my own sleep deprivation have not been vocal enough. Otherwise why would you have called me AT TWELVE THIRTY PM last night? When I grabbed for my phone in a half-awake panic, thinking, "Oh no, who's died?" you said nonchalantly, "Hi. Homework question: what is the opposite of Western religion?"
"What?" I demanded, barely coherent. "Is this some kind of trick question?"
Sister: "No, it's an essay thing. I'm just not sure what they're looking for here."
Me: (blinking in disbelief)(also, speaking slowly) "The opposite of west is east- you are familiar with the concept of DIRECTION, right?"
Sister: "I know, but do they mean Eastern religion, or a specific religion? What's a SPECIFIC Eastern religion?"
Me:(stares at phone, hand shaking with rage) Long pause. Sigh. "BUDDHISM? And also, GAAAA! Do not call me at this hour of night unless you are DYING!"
SISTER: (in injured tone) "Sorry. Geez."

23 comments:

Flibberty said...

I'm the little annoying sister in my family, and I routinely call me sister at the most inconvenient hours. She is a night owl, and I like to call her at 7:00am just becuase. Of course, she doesn't have kids yet, so I feel it's okay.

Jess said...

Hahahaha you were nice to answer the question. I would have refused. Or given a totally wrong answer.

Anonymous said...

Oh man, that is just plain wrong! Then I would have gotten even madder b/c my adrenaline would have been pumping from the assumption that someone had died, so as I lay there not sleeping I think I would have been planning her demise.

Mommy Daisy said...

I would have to kill my sister if she did that.

That's probably why I only leave the phone on during certain times of the day.

Call before I'm up? I won't answer. Call while my son is napping? I won't answer. Call while we're eating supper? I won't answer. Call in the middle of the night? I won't answer. If you want something, leave a message. I'll call you back later. Beep. (That should be my voicemail message.)

Pickles and Dimes said...

This is why I shut my cell phone off at night. :)

Kelsey said...

I get nervous if someone calls after 9:30. Yikes! I would probably have hung up on my sister at that point.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness, what was she thinking? What would the right payback be? Perhaps call her right after a 3 am feeding "just to chat?"

Tess said...

EVIL. This is why I almost never answer my phone, night or day. You can leave me a message to tell me there's been a death in the family and I'll listen to it at my convenience.

Saly said...

Oh I'd have killed her!! I remember when I first moved out of my parent's house and was working 3jobs, my then 6-year-old brother would call me at 7 every morning.

He is lucky to be alive today

Maggie said...

Ouch! That is decidedly uncool. I probably would have wanted to give her the wrong answer too, and would have been stopped only by the potential guilt it would cause.

mamashine said...

Oh, see, this is what the internet is for! These questions are no longer meant to be answered by people! Especially in the middle of the night!

Call her at 6:30 this Saturday morning and ask her something related to nothing...

bananafana said...

12:30???? GAH! NOT COOL
I'm impressed you even answered - I probably would have chucked the phone out the window

Swistle said...

Ha ha! 12:30! For a homework question!

Anonymous said...

It was an important question and you are 23 let me remind you! Stay up til 12:30 AM once in awhile.(not PM as you put in your blog)Seriously, fun things happen at that time of night.
- the "annoying little sister"
p.s. it wasn't a homework question it was a life question

Sarah said...

Even worse, little sister, even worse! Call me with your life question at a decent time of day. At least homework involves deadlines and seems a little more urgent.

Katy said...

There should be some sort of severe punishment for that type of thing. I'm not exactly sure what--maybe a week of babysitting?

Astarte said...

OMG!!!! You should have told her that your religion is SLEEP and it is sacrilegious to wake you up!!! What on earth?! I'll bet it took a long time for your heart to stop pounding, too. Waking up because of the phone is the WORST.

SLynnRo said...

I'm with Tessie- this is why I never answer the phone. Dying? Send an email. You are far better than I, for you answered the question.

Anonymous said...

Sister-in-law,
You're acting as if you actually listen to the answers of life questions.

Anonymous said...

Holy crap. I would have killed her.

jen said...

This reminds me of this one time I was in college and called my parents at 2:30 am because I had totally lost track of time. But the kicker was that they were AWAKE and WATCHING TV! They were, of course, alarmed as to the potential reasons why I might be calling at that hour, but then when I realized what time it was and apologized, they laughed and said they were watching a movie.

But.. man.. talk about not understanding one's station in life!

Anonymous said...

If my sister did that to me, I would have ended her.

The childless have no idea of the torture of baby-induced sleep-deprivation.

d e v a n said...

OMG. I would kill her.