Do you see the above picture? Because, that is the telephone I had growing up. Yes, it is now an antique, thank you very much, but to be fair it was old even when I was young.
My grandpa worked for Bell Telephone and brought it home. Those old phones were built to last, and boy did that phone last. It weighed a ton, took forever to dial and made the most epic sound whenever I slammed the receiver down in anger.
My kids were young when cell phones first began to be a thing. I remember a friend and I laughing about people carrying phones around with them. I mean how important do you have to imagine yourself to be to do such a thing? At the time, it seemed the ultimate in arrogance.
And now, here I am with basically a mini-computer tethered to me at all times and I whine if something goes wrong and I can’t make a call.
Well, I have been taken back to those “good old days” recently because, by modern standards, my phone is once again an antique. I used to yell “Stupid phone!” repeatedly throughout the day, but lately I am beginning to see the blessings in having an old phone.
Here’s what I mean:
- My phone doesn’t hold a charge and so I must decide whether it’s really worthwhile to unplug it from the wall and take it anywhere. This means that I have more time to live in the moment instead of checking my phone constantly.
- My phone is also very particular and will only charge from a certain kitchen outlet (which is very weird, and I have no explanation for), but that means no more phone next to my bed! This has been a huge blessing: no more scrolling late into the night and no more checking social media for an hour (or more) before getting out of bed in the morning. I’m not sure I would have been strong enough to make this decision on my own, so thank you, weird, wonky phone!
- My phone doesn’t have a lot of memory left. So, I had to delete all the social media sites. Another game-changer! I have saved so much time by just checking social media once a day from my computer instead.
- Since there’s not a lot of memory left, I must be picky about what I take pictures of. This means I am more present in life, taking in the beauty of little moments without a camera stuck in my face.
- I can’t load games for my grandkids anymore either, which means that THEY are more present in life’s moments too and they are learning to converse with adults in social settings instead of staring at a screen.
Since I realized all this, I haven’t yelled “stupid phone” as much anymore. Almost daily, my husband offers to take me to buy a new phone and I find myself putting it off. Someday, I will get that phone I’ve been wanting, the one with the amazing camera. When I do, I hope I remember all I’ve learned from this old one.
Read more of Ann’s contributions to allmomdoes here.
