Phones

 I know that some people think that I am just being rude when I don't answer a text or a message right away.  Sometimes I will do that after sending a few texts back, I will just put my phone down for a while.  And yeah, I guess it is rude but I'm not doing it to be rude. And the same applies to being on my computer.  I'm not necessarily going to get right back to you. Part of the reasoning is because of my job.  I work at the front desk.  I spend my entire day on the phone and on the computer.  I have no desire to take that home with me. I like to separate myself from technology when I'm home.  That is not to say I don't look at my phone, or I don't sit at the computer, like I'm doing right now writing this.  But I am simply not spending all of my home time communicating with people. 

I often miss having a landline phone.  Growing up, like so many households, our yellow phone was on the wall in the kitchen.  It might actually have been a green phone but my mind is telling me yellow! You could take it as far as the kitchen table.  Otherwise, you sat on the stool at the counter to talk on the phone.  And anyone coming into the kitchen had to duck under the cord - that long coiled cord that often would get tangled in itself. OF course, the phone matched our kitchen colors of yellow, green and orange.  Standard 70s fare! I remember getting our 2nd line installed.  It was in my parents' bedroom. Finally, if we needed some privacy, we could go into their bedroom and shut the door to talk.  Of course, it did not mean that they couldn't come in at any moment.  It was their bedroom after all.  

Then came the new waves of phone technology:  the cordless phone and the answering machine. Our cordless phone replaced the cherished yellow phone in the kitchen.  But now we could walk around anywhere and talk on the phone.  Who knew at that time that would become the norm? Ah, well.  And our answering machine took up residence in my parents' bedroom alongside the 2nd landline.  There was something exciting about coming home and seeing that red light blinking and wondering who the treasured message was for. It made me feel important when there was a message for me! And if you have ever tripped over something and fallen flat on your face because you're running to get to the phone before the caller hangs up, you know how wonderful having an answering machine was at that time. 

I miss those times when our phones did not control our lives, it only enhanced them.  People may argue that phones today do enhance our lives and I would not necessarily disagree.  But there are times when I don't want the world at my fingertips.  I don't want to be looking down at a screen for hours at a time.  I just want to put my phone down and walk away and live my life.  If it rings, I'll do my best to get to the phone before the caller hangs up.  Hopefully without tripping over something!