Happy Birthday to You
No, it’s not actually my birthday but I was reminded with recent events of how my mom would call me on my birthday and sing “Happy Birthday”. Usually it ended up being a voicemail. One of the wonders of modern technology is being able to save just about anything and I have one of those voicemails still, saved to multiple places so I won’t lose it. If I or my kids want to hear her voice it’s right there ready to play. Nobody need forget what she sounded like.
I’ve got quite a few of those hanging around — voicemails from my mother-in-law who had a massive stroke several years ago who doesn’t sound the same, voice recordings of the kids when they were little, etc. I plan on leaving some voice notes myself so when I’m gone my kids won’t have to forget what I sounded like.
It’s one of the worst things about losing someone is that knowledge that you’ll never hear their voice again. Most of us have pictures but recordings of people always seem to be elusive. At least that was how things were. These days, with everyone recording videos, it’s less likely to happen to loved ones in the future.
I’m glad I was able to track down that one voicemail that I saved off just in case years ago.
