“Oh no! My phone was stolen!”
It was like a part of me was taken away. It is not that I was materialistically attached to the gadget. It was more of the sentimental value that made it hard for me to let go. The old android was not really a hot item worth coveting. That is why I could not really understand why anyone had the interest to get it.
It was pretty hard to part with the warm memories that came with it – it was a gift from my husband, the pictures of our children since they were babies were stored in there and I had yet to upload them to my Facebook account for keeps, not to mention the contact numbers of all my friends, family and networks.
The effect of losing my mobile phone was like a psychological mild stroke that forced me to reboot my lifestyle back to the analog days. I had to announce the bad news to everyone I met so they did not have to waste their load texting me.
But come to think of it… There were perks switching to the manual mode.
For starters, I had more physical exercise. I had to go out of my way to look for the person I needed to talk to before I could relay a message. That was a good way to burn unwanted calories.
For another, it was a chance to stretch the limits of my brain. I could no longer rely on the recorded contacts or message folders in my cell phone to automatically send messages so I was forced to memorize important numbers. I did not even know my husband’s mobile number and our own home landline by heart! I suddenly realized how my memory went into sleep mode with too much dependence on technology. I had to actually restart and get it more activated.
I also had to be more conscious of time management. Making the extra effort of finding people and talking to them face to face may eat up some hours so I make an advanced mental note which activity to prioritize, what route to take and when I could see them to maximize breaks from office work.
Things began to get more personal, too. I did not just tell colleagues, friends and family what I wanted or needed. Meeting up with them was a great opportunity to ask how they are and be abreast about the latest developments in their lives, promise prayers for their concerns and send regards to their spouses or parents.
I left notes for our stay-out nanny to remind her of the tasks to accomplish. I felt uncomfortable just barking orders. After the long list, I realized how busy she would be for the day so I made it a point to thank her in advance to show some appreciation. This somehow deepened her sense of loyalty and cared for our kids better.
I am the type who gets irked with people checking on me constantly (read: husband’s quirk) but strangely I began appreciating his way of showing concern. To ease off his worries, I tried my best to tell him about my schedule before I kissed him good bye. Of course, I do not leave without saying the sweet nothings, knowing that I do not have the luxury of popping up messages during the day. Now that set his good mood before getting into the daily grind.
Of course, our little daughters were not spared of some motherly smothering. I started using the hard phone instead of just texting yaya to ask how they are. Since I can no longer make calls anytime anywhere, I did my best to finish my workload as quickly as possible to leave the office earlier than usual so I could catch our girls still awake. I used to contact them on my way home to say good night before bedtime. Without my mobile phone, I got to spend more time talking to them, reading stories and thanking Papa God for the day’s blessings. I got more details about how their day went, we had more laughter and fun leaving smiles on our faces before dozing off.
This was how my routine went for a week before I realized that I just left my cell phone at my parents-in-laws’ place.
After beating up myself for a while for the senior moment lapse, I quickly realized that it was not really that bad going “primitive” for a while. Yes, it made me realize my priorities despite the busy schedule. And yes, it entailed more time consuming errands and mind-straining memorization but I got to appreciate relationships better again. Not bad at all.
Photo credits: inhabitat.com