The Irish Phone-Call Home

John Mc got me thinking about the Irish phone-call to the old sod (land, not old fella!) in his response to my comment over at his place.
It made me remember the hoops my parents had to go through to phone home in the early 70s, when we lived in England, as part of the Irish diaspora.
Mam would write to her parents to tell them that she would phone the one and only local phone box at 6.30p.m. on Thursday, 17th of June - she'd give about 2 weeks notice in case someone else wanted to get a call on that day at that time - on that phone!
Then, the day before the big event, I would be given the job of phoning the operator, asking for the international operator, then the "Irish service" to book the call for the following day. I never questioned why I was given this job - even though I was only a kid!! Thinking about it today though, it was probably because I was the eldest kid, and because the operator might not understand my parents' Irish accent? As I think on it, they used to have quite a bit of trouble being understood by the natives. It didn't affect us too much though, because the Irish tended to stick together.
Anyway, the big day would come, and we would all be crowded around the phone. I would go through the rigmarole again at 6pm - 1. operator 2. international operator 3. Irish service - speaking to each operator in turn. Eventually, we'd get through to Ireland. Then the fun would start!! I would be put through to God knows how many exchanges, asking for Ballymagash 4 * (roaring down the phone because they couldn't hear me!!), spelling it, saying what county it was in - looking back, it was a scream, at the time though it was quite serious, because my parents contact with home lay in my young hands!
At long, long last, I'd be put through to another person and I'd say, "Hello, is that Ballymagash 4*?" and if everything had gone right (it didn't always) then I'd hear, "Hello, is that you, Mairéad, this is your granda. You're a great girl. Is your Mammy waiting there for me?" I'd hand over the phone, and Mam would get all the news of the weather, the weddings, funerals, illnesses - just like John Mc gets today when he rings home.
Like I said to John - some things have changed utterly, while other things haven't changed at all.

*Ballymagash 4 wasn't the number, but it was close. We didn't get an automatic service where I live in Cork until about 1984?? maybe later. We were physically "put through" by a local person whom we all knew, and by God but she knew all about us too, thanks to her excellent listening skills!!!

What a Week!

Well, I have survived! So far anyway!
The two stressful things turned into three!!
First, I had an interview for promotion. That was the 6/10 one on the stressometer. It turned out well in the end. I got it. Yeaaa. Very stressful though.
Next, I can't talk about it - subjudicae - that was the 10/10 one, and t'was a good ten alright. Feicfimis.
Third, we got a little surprise visitor from Mr. Stress - hubby got news that he is facing redundancy. Not pleasant.
I suspect that the hundreds of job losses announced this week were kept under wraps until after the election. What do you think?

So, all in all, a very tough week.
I hadn't time to give the yoga a go, John, or the walk and soak, Conan, so I did a spot of deep breathing as per FMC. It worked!! Many thanks for the support everyone.

Stress

I'm feeling a bit stressed these days.
I have two high-pressures things to do within a week.
Both have been brewing for a while.
The first thing is tomorrow (Wed), and it's been on the boil since September. It's about a 6 out of ten on the stress scale.
The second thing is worse, and has been hanging over me for about three and a half years. It's definitely a ten out of ten. It's hitting boiling point next week.

The butterflies are in full flight. I'm bilious and queasy. I'm nervous, irritable, cranky and a bit scared.
Any tips on getting through tough times?

P.S. My first-born starts his Leaving Cert exams tomorrow too. He's extremely laid back, cool and calm - long may it last!