My
phone is out for repair. Should be back in about a week.
Apparently,
the issue is a fairly common problem. Covered by warranty. So,
for now it doesn’t appear to be costing me anything except the
seven to ten days I don’t have my phone.
The
strange thing is, I’m finding I don’t care.
Oh
sure, that opinion might change a bit once I get my phone back
and check my voice mails. But honestly, our calendar is clean…
don’t have any appointments coming up and not expecting any major
calls… and anyone that truly needs me has Terry’s phone numbers,
our e-mail addresses, and other ways of connecting with us. End
result… no real worries.
About
the only thing that matters is a person I have never met but occasionally
interact with on a gaming app. Honestly, not too concerned by
that either. Quick message when my phone is back in my hands and
we’ll be caught up.
Over
the years, I’ve always believed I don’t rely on my phone all that
much. I do use it for the convenience of things. Pictures… quick
online searches… movie times… something to do when sitting in
a waiting room waiting for the dentist… pretty generic stuff.
But even the other day, when I needed to take some pictures, I
grabbed my regular digital camera.
It’s
even developed into a fairly standard joke between Terry and I.
Basically, built on the idea that no one ever calls me. It’s funny
(and perhaps a bit sad) because it’s true. Heck, even the kids
respond to her texts within minutes and mine in about… well, I
can’t give you an exact amount of time because they never respond
to my texts.
As
long as Terry can reach me when needed, all is good. And since
she has a business phone she uses all the time and rarely needs
her personal cell, we happen to have a phone I can use for now.
If there was a problem, the problem would be solved.
Still,
even with a phone to use, for the past couple of days I have been
avoiding a few things. I haven’t been calling or texting friends
and family. I told them I have Terry’s phone… they probably wouldn’t
be stunned to see messages from me arriving from that number…
but I don’t want to reach out from one phone, end up putting it
down in a day or two, and then miss any response when I switch
back.
Terry’s
phone also doesn’t have many of the same apps that I use, and
even the ones we have in common she has set in different places.
I thought I didn’t rely on my phone that much, and would still
contend that I don’t… but there I am, four or five times a day
feeling lost when I try to use a free moment to check the weather
or catch up on NFL news.
It’s
been quiet around me as a result. No one calling me, and I’m not
calling them. I’m only grabbing for Terry’s phone when I head
to the car or need to have it nearby. And the really strange thing
is… I’m not so sure of what will happen when I get my phone back.
See
right now, it’s been pretty sweet having the peace and quiet…
along with the excuse (or at least justification) that my phone
is missing. But once it comes back, I’ll probably spend a day
or two reconnecting with everyone by a text here, call there,
and perhaps a game or two thrown in for good measure. Before long,
regular patterns will resume, no one will be reaching out to me
but they could, and my phone will be more or less a fixture in
my pocket.
A
few years ago, Terry and I made the decision to live without a
landline. Like many of you have possibly experienced, the home
phone just wasn’t doing much for us except produce a bill.
Cell
phones were simply more convenient. For everything. Just the idea
of portable voice mail produced a major leap beyond the counter-locked
answering machine. Start adding in that my home phone didn’t offer
an alarm clock, couldn’t be an emergency provider of directions
while driving, and… and, yeah… was placing a strain on my checkbook
that was becoming increasingly obvious I didn’t need.
So
sure, I do need my cell phone.
But
for these few days without it, I’m enjoying. (Although tomorrow
I should probably call my mother.)