Over a month ago my cellphone had a very unfortunate run in with a bottle of Gatorade. At first I was hopeful that Jen’s Guy could fix it, because he can pretty much fix anything. He suggested a treatment involving a bag of rice and complete submersion of my phone in said bag of rice. This treatment lasted for a week and I have to say that my first week sans cellphone was hard. I alternated between moments of despondency and feeling completely disconnected from the world.
And then I would have moments of surging power wherein I would remember that my childhood, teenage years, and even the majority of my pre-adult years had been cellphone free! I had survived it all then, armed only with a pair of penny loafers with quarters in the front slots so that I could call home when needed.
After a week Jen’s Guy sadly pronounced that my phone was officially dead and he could do no more to help resuscitate it. Since I am lucky enough to have a technologically skilled husband, there was no insurance plan on my phone and due to a list of other pressing financial requirements it looked like we would need to wait a bit to replace it. So with no other option available to me, I began to live a life cell phone free.
I admit to feeling a little embarrassed at first when I had to ask to use other people’s phones or ask what time it was, and also when explaining to my children’s school and teachers why they had been unable to reach me on my cellphone. But I survived for a week and then it turned into two and then it became well over a month without a cellphone. It was interesting, but once I arrived at that point I really didn’t care about having one anymore, but this week my family forcefully compelled me by saying it was to time for me to finally get a new one. Truthfully, I think it was the fact that Jen’s Guy was tired of having to manage my Instagram account on his cellphone…
So now I am the proud owner of a brand new cellphone. But my weeks without one have left me with some pretty valuable lessons that I hope to carry with me going forward.
Being “Connected” Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up To Be.
I learned I had been missing out on a lot, by being so “connected”. Without my cellphone I became much more engaged in the real moment and not the virtual one my cellphone had provided. At the park I found myself playing, engaging and enjoying what was really going on without the distractions of my cellphone.I found the same to be true pretty much everywhere I went that I used to have a cellphone. It had hampered my ability to really connect with real life people.
I will no longer mistake being connected, for actually living a life full of real people and real enjoyment.
Sometimes Silence Is Golden.
There is something very freeing about not being able to be reached all of the time, especially at times which I normally would have felt duty bound to answer my cellphone even if it was inconvenient. I liked being able to tell people when they could reach me, informing them when I would be home and that they could reach me then. It was like setting my own hours for phone calls, and it was fabulous!
An unexpected side benefit for all of this was that it forced my children to be more responsible. Double checking they had all of the things they needed for the day, because they knew Dad would be at work and Mom might not be available to contact for quick drop offs of items they had forgotten at home. I hope this little self motivated benefit continues in our family.
Distracted Cellphone Drivers Stink.
I had become an unsafe driver. How easy it is to be easily distracted by your cellphone while driving. Now that I have a cellphone again, I have decided that I will no longer answer it while driving. If you need me you can wait.
Real Life Is So Much Better.
I had allowed my life to become too full of technological distractions that pulled me away from fully enjoying life and I will no longer allow any form of technology to do that to me. I will use technology as a tool, but I will not allow it to replace the moments which matter.
I am embarrassed to admit how much my cellphone had been affecting my life and not in a positive way, but I feel like I now have a renewed focus for how I can use it in a way that will positively enhance my life.
One of the reasons I ultimately decided to pick up a new cellphone was for business purposes. I have had a wonderful month with many blogging opportunities that have come my way. I am grateful for these opportunities and for the blessings they have provided for my family. The life of a blogger is always changing, and in order to stay current there are some advances I need to make in my blogging world.
One of those is the use and addition of Periscope. So I will be trying my hand at it and hoping not to become a big old train wreck over there. If you are interested in “meeting” me in real life, I will be doing my first scope this Tuesday 10/6, well unless we drop a surprise trip to Disneyland or someplace else on the kids, because we just might. You can find me over there at QueenMomJen. I will make sure to post when my scopes will be happening on Facebook, so if you are a scoper, make sure to follow me over there!
Thank you to everyone who follows JENerally Informed and supports my little corner of the blog-o-sphere. Your time is precious and I am grateful you have chosen to spend some of it here!
Stay Happy! Stay Informed!
Love,
Jen
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