Cutting the Cord

I grew up in an era where the phones had cords. Sometimes short ones, and if we were lucky (or just kept stretching) they were a little longer and could stretch around the corner or into another room so that we could get more privacy. We longed to be cord-less so that we had more freedom and could go and talk to someone without the noise of younger siblings, a cooking dinner, a nagging parent or the practicing piano lesson.

Enter the cordless phone. A miracle of modern technology. Now we just needed a 'base' to charge and we could take that baby anywhere. Well, within a 25 meter radius that is. We could talk in our room, in our car (if we had one), in the garage, or even the bathroom (because admit it... going cordless meant 'going' there).

These days we have cell phones. Now we have the ultimate freedom. We can talk anywhere. In fact, we don't even have to talk because we can text or email from those cell phones too. Yes, the cord has been cut.  So why do I feel more leashed than ever? I went to the store tonight and about halfway there I realized that I didn't have my phone with me. I actually contemplated turning around to get it. "What if I have an emergency?" "What if someone texts me?" "What if I miss a call?" "What if someone needs me?" And so, I made the RADICAL decision to just keep going and hope that the world wouldn't fall apart without me and my phone for the hour I was gone. I went 'old school'. Thankfully there was no emergency, but if there had been, I would have borrowed the store's phone (or another patron's cell phone.) I did come home to 3 missed texts, 1 missed phone call, and missed saving $5 on my purchase because the coupon was, you guessed it, on my phone.

I also missed something else during that 1 hour - except I didn't really 'miss' it - the need to be in constant contact. We may have 'cut the cord' (and yes, I know that the phrase usually implies the umbilical cord and our attachment to our parents) but we traded it for a leash. We wanted freedom but somehow I feel less free. By cutting the cord, we actually have fewer hiding places because we can be 'found' anywhere.

The older I get, the more the 'good ol' days' don't seem so bad (not that I ever thought they were) and the more I worry about the next generation who doesn't know how to unplug, unwind, or 'hide' from the world that constantly bombards them. And, the more I'm convicted that it's something we need to model for them. Put those phones away at meal time, and better yet, put it on silent so that you're not tempted or have a Pavlovian response if it dings, rings, or beeps. Give yourself a cell-free hour each day (and see if you can actually do it, it's HARD!). Let people know that if they get your voicemail that you'll get back to them. And give yourself permission to actually let a call go to voicemail. We are important to others. You all are important to me. But if we don't take care of ourselves, and do things that feed our souls without interruption, we may not be much good to one another and we may not be raising kids that know how to do it either.

So we've cut the cord. Now it's time to work on the leash. What do you think?

Until next time....