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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
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Samantha Allemann

As I navigated the hazy days of early parenting, voice messages from friends kept me afloat

Young woman recording a voice message on smartphone outdoors
‘I hate hearing my voice,’ texted one friend when I asked if we could send voice notes instead of texts. Photograph: Posed by model; Angel Santana/Getty Images

My friend Sevil and I met up recently, where we sat and talked for three hours. Neither of us are strangers to hanging out in bars, but this time the meeting felt luxurious; it was face-to-face social interaction! On my walk home, I sent her a voice note, she sent me one back, and we continued to do so the next day.

I remember when my mum would ask teenage me, “what do you still have to talk about?” after I’d return from school and make a beeline for the phone to call my bestie who I’d seen 20 minutes prior. Laying on my parents’ bed next to our landline, I’d twirl the cord as my friend and I would chat, before my brothers barged in and told me to get off so they could use the internet.

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