we’d sometimes hear the phone ringing in the house before we got the door open. Someone would say, “The phone’s ringing!”

My mother would be frantically fumbling around in her purse for her keys. She’d finally get the door unlocked and the first person in would run to the kitchen to answer the phone. “Hello?” If the calling party had already hung up there was great frustration that we had missed the call.

My parents would often call two or three people they thought it might have been and ask, “Did you just try to call?” If they said “Yes,” there was great relief that we had determined the mystery caller. Otherwise, there was disappointment that we might have missed a very important call.😀