Failed Grabs for My Cell Phone

Sitting and drinking coffee in Joe and Rosie’s in Dexter seems what I need right now.  There’s  easy blues being sung by a mellow, female voice.  Whispers of conversations come from around me. The milk steamer makes its sputter-dentist-machine sound. There are large windows I can look out and see dark, rainclouds and  blustery wind. My belly is seriously content after eating an avocado, hard boiled egg, open-faced sandwich.  And of course there's hot

coffee.

I recently went to Tennessee to see my sister.  On my return to Michigan, after she dropped me off at Southwest departures, I realized I had left my phone in her car!  I was without my cell-phone for three days! 

I couldn’t call her and tell her to come back with my phone.  (I didn’t even have her phone number). I couldn’t use the ticket I had on my phone to check in my luggage.  I couldn’t text my friend when I landed.   

I would normally have checked the weather, texts from friends and family and Instagram while waiting to board.  Oh, and I would keep track of the time.  

Surprisingly, I didn’t panic.  I was stuck.  I had to put my brain around being without a tool I normally depend on.

I used my laptop to iMessage my sister about the phone.  Checking my bag was a breeze and the Southwest person, at the counter, printed me a real, paper ticket to carry with me.   

Didn't Have to Worry About This!

I later found out my friend was en-route and wouldn’t have received my text in time anyway.  (He had decided to park and come inside to meet me at baggage claim).

I practiced my German (from a real book, not on cell-phone) while waiting to board.  And anything that was on Instagram could wait. 

It was an important lesson for me. I was reminded that my cell-phone is just a tool.  I didn’t have a choice whether I could use it or not (while it was gone), But I had a choice to figure out what other tools would suffice and take its place.  Maybe even better options.

I depend quite a bit on my phone for a voice telling me when to turn and how to get somewhere (Waze app).  For two days I had to write out the directions on a piece of paper, make sure I had it with me when I left my apartment and check for road names and directions left or right.  On return trips I had to go backwards in the directions and see how to get back.

The weather from the phone is no more accurate than getting a 3-day forecast from the computer.  Some things never change with the weather in Michigan, it always changes. 

I noticed a calmness I felt without my cell-phone.  It took many failed grabs for my phone, while it was gone, but after awhile I adjusted surprisingly well.

Cell-phones are just tools. They’re used to communicate, navigate, investigate, research and are handy for measuring time.  

They’re also a pain.  They can drop and break (or drown).  It’s not always easy to remember where we put them last.  We have trained ourselves to respond to the signals we hear from our phones. 

But, many people I care about are extremely busy (not retired like me).  So the cell phone will always be an important tool to keep in contact with them.  

I’m just glad I was forced to be without mine for a few days to appreciate what it can and can’t do for me. It’s like when the power goes out during a storm.  It forces us to imagine other tools we can use to accomplish some of the same things.