My husband Steven opened the front door and stuck his head in. “Okay. I’ve finished installing our new Ring camera.” He called. “Anyone want to come check it out?”
My son Alex and I went to the front door and looked at our new doorbell.
Steven held out his phone. “Once you get the app on your phone you’ll be able to see who’s at our front door even if you’re not at home.”
I looked at his phone and sure enough I could see a picture of him standing at the front door.
“It even records what is said!” Steven added.
Sure enough his phone repeated what he’d just said.
“Isn’t that great?” Steven asked as he collected the tools he’d been using and came inside.
I looked over at Alex. “I guess it’s good.”
Steven looked surprised. “What do you mean you guess?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. I just feel like we live in a society where everything is recorded.” I looked back at Alex. “I’m not sure I want everything I do to be seen.”
Steven shook his head. “You’re going to be glad I installed this once you’re at work and a package gets delivered.”
I sighed again as I turned my phone over to Steven and he began to set up the app.
Sure enough not five minutes later I was downstairs in the laundry room when I heard the alert go off on my phone. I looked at the screen and could see Steven leaving the house. “Where’s he going?” I asked myself as I watched him go to his truck to put the tools away. I put the phone on top of the dryer and I pulled some still warm towels out and began to fold them. “Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.” I said as the phone alerted me again that Steven was coming back into the house. “Interesting way to keep track of everybody.” I scooped up the folded towels and headed for the linen closet.
Several hours later I was in my bathrobe getting ready to sit down on the couch when I realized I hadn’t watered the chrysanthemums on the front porch.
Going into the kitchen I filled a pitcher with water and headed for the front door. As I was watering the plants I could hear the phone alert going off in my bathrobe pocket.
“Oh, no, no, no, no!” I cried as I dumped the remainder of the water on the plant and rushed back inside.
I put the empty pitcher on the counter top and grabbed my phone from my pocket. Going to the camera site I quickly played back the last few seconds.
Sure enough there I was in my bathrobe, hair pulled in a ponytail, barefoot, with a water pitcher in my hand grumbling about the stupid plants that always seemed to need water.
“I look awful.” I cringed. “This isn’t going to work!” I called out.
Alex came into the living room where I was standing.
“What isn’t going to work?” He asked.
I held out the phone and played back what had just happened. Taking the phone Alex watched and then looked at me. “What’s the problem?” He asked.
“I look like a mess and I’m talking to myself.” I cried.
Alex looked confused. “So?”
“I can’t have people videoing me looking like this!” I began shaking my head. “Now I’m going to have to get dressed up and watch what I say every time I walk out the front door!”
Alex patted me on the shoulder. “It’s only going to be Dad and I who see it.” He reminded me as he handed me back my phone. “We already know that you talk to yourself and what you look like in your pajamas.”
I looked back at the screen, a picture of me in my robe frozen in time. “Yeah, but now I know what I look like and I’m not happy.” I sighed. “Not happy at all.”
Slice of Life 