Sandy Supposes....

I Now Qualify For A Wellness Check

         So, my birthday rolled around again on June first. I'm not putting this out there to garner congratulations, or cheers, or even pity. Yes, I'll be the first to admit that I am aging, but isn't everyone? I cannot be the only one. The strangest thing occurred this evening and I believe it correlates to my 'advanced' years. My time has come.

         I just experienced a wellness check. Yep, someone expressed concern about my welfare and sent another someone to check on me. What precipitated this? Had someone worried ? Had they envisioned a catastrophe?

         My first inkling that I had somehow caused a loved one undue stress came as I hustled from my easy chair in response to a pounding upon my door. I did not hasten to a normal knock, or a tap. This thunder was inflicted upon my door to catch my attention, or wake me from a perceived slumber / momentary faint /, or a coma. The pounder exerted an urgency.

         I swung open the door to greet my daughter-in-law who exhaled audibly and exclaimed, "Oh, you're alright then?"

         I tittered in response and I may have bowed to show my level of consciousness. I waved my arms and wiggled my toes for added effect. Terrilynn's furrowed brow and unblinking eyes revealed her skepticism.

         "Chris texted me to come and check on you. He said his dad has been trying to reach you all day. I was in town already. One minute I was snuggling Josh's new baby and the next I was driving here. I even forgot how to pass over a baby."

          I shook my head and shrugged. I retrieved my cellphone and searched for recent calls. My call log was empty for today and in fact, I'd last received a call from my long-distance trucker hubby on my birthday, June first.

         "Well Paul talked to your son and they both thought maybe you'd fallen, or something. You never answered your phone. Is it turned off? Did you turn down the volume?"

         In my defense, I showed my DIL that my phone was charged, the volume set to more than a whisper, and it had been placed next to my recliner within easy reach. My cellphone and I were blissfully unaware that we'd created a kerfuffle.

         Terrilynn and I engaged in more of our impromptu chin wag before she bid me adieu. Of course, she texted my son with the news that I was still standing and breathing. During our gabfest, I multi-tasked and sent a private message to my perturbed / concerned / frantic partner.

         Eventually, he and I connected via a Facetime chat. He could see with his own eyes that all his perceived fears had been for naught. Had there been a glitch in the satellite thingies shooting our communication attempts adrift in a vast nether world? Strange...

         Now, it's not as if I don't sometimes worry about my hubby when he's far from home. His semi is tracked by a satellite. He possesses two cellphones, an American model and a Canadian one both of which may be traced. As he drives, he wiles away the hours chatting with a network of friends and family. He travels along busy highways amongst other traffic. In other words, if something happened to him it would not occur in a vacuum.

         I suppose I should feel loved and I most assuredly do, but does this mean I can anticipate further wellness checks? Will I be gifted with one of those Alert necklaces meant for feeble seniors? Will my family install an emergency phone that lights up the sky and demands a swift response similar to the fabled bat-phone? Oooo, perhaps there will be more spontaneous visits, or drop-ins.