Send her - A Korean girl's first phone call

Send her - A Korean girl's first phone call

My sister Rachel and I loved playing with Julie from up the road. Rachel, recently adopted from Korea, was taught to use the phone shortly after she could utter her first sentences in English. Her first calls were to Julie's house. 

A typical little child would call, "Hi, this is Rachel can Julie play?" or  "Hi, this is Rachel can I talk to Julie?" Not my sister; she just stated in a shockingly deep and husky voice, "Send her!" The best part...she hung up after saying this. 

It is almost spooky to think about it. Imagine someone in a horror movie calling and uttering those words as the phone goes dead. I get chills thinking about it.

Rather than being annoyed this family was exceptionally kind and knew Rachel was merely asking Julie to play, and they sent her.

When I heard this story, I smiled. I've always known I grew up in a remarkable neighborhood. A famous African proverb states:

It takes a village to raise a child.

When I heard this story, I felt a flood of gratitude to Compton Bench and Farmington, Utah; my childhood community. They were kind, and we looked after each other. 

As a parent, I am happy not to be alone on this journey. Just this week a heard a teacher lectured my son when she saw him biking with earphones in and ... the horror of horrors while looking at his phone. Thank you to her, and thank you to all of you who make an effort and speak up. There is no way I could do this alone, and the world will be a better place if we care for each other.

—Allison Ochs Social Worker M.S.W. , Coach, Expat, Mother of three, Wife