Ahem, am I allowed to tell you how busy I am? How I have tried to do more this year to make homeschooling more fulfilling and rewarding? How my house is a wreck and there are three kids in soccer, three in Scouts and I have to occasionally get food for the locusts that breeze through the pantry? Truth be told it doesn't take long to post and entry in my blog, the harder part is coming up with a topic to discuss which allows me to post a thoughtful yet admittedly bias opinion. Perhaps the key word is thoughtful, the mere fact that I am able to be thoughtful on occasion seems miraculous to me, so when I get the opportunity, I do take it, it just doesn't come along very often. So, may I use any of the above excuses? No? ah well, for what it's worth the frequency by which I claim 'busy' as an excuse is getting old to me too.
So where to begin? First with a clarification, ( my first evah!) I posted last time about day care kids, I know better than to stereotype families and kids and I thought I had qualified everything sufficiently, but evidently, I may have given a misperception about an important point that I need to clarify. I do not think that day care kids are sad....my point was that I am sad to think of day care kids. Yes, I know they are (like most all kids), as cherished and loved as my own, I simply was trying to post on my feelings about how I might react if I had to put my kids in day care, and feeling sad that there are sacrifices made to the importance of being together, that's all. It would make me so profoundly sad to have to turn my kids over to someone else as our time with our children is so brief on this earth anyway. I meant no offense or criticism of life choices, we all work with the hands we are dealt, as best as we are able ( well most of us). Okay? are we clear? Are we good? Terrific.
Now on to the post:
There I was, fresh off a grueling work out (ha ha ) showering at the gym. As I turned off my shower, I hear a woman next to me....(wait for it).....ANSWER HER CELL PHONE........IN.THE.SHOWER. Now I happen to be all about communication, I think cell phones are the bees knees, it is hard to imagine a device that is more convenient and helpful, yet pervasive, in our society. But frankly, I think we all need to take a huge step backwards. A woman answered the cell phone in the shower. Does anyone else find that.....unbelievable? Now before you pepper me with all sorts of reasons why she might answer ( awaiting a doctor's call, needs to pick up a child. etc) I get it, there are instances that having a phone is vital and so so so so helpful. But, this was the woman's entire conversation "Hello... yeah, I'm here... um nothing really, I am in the shower...oh about 20 minutes.. OK, I'll talk to you then....yup....bye" Now if she was awaiting a important call, that was NOT it, why did she answer, she must have looked at the number. I mean can't you wait a few minutes to finish cleaning yourself. Are you oh so important (or egotistical) (or needy) that you think someone cannot wait a FEW minutes to be graced with your response? that you might be able to get a message and perhaps call back? that maybe, a call could....WAIT??? gasp,
Now, I own a cell phone, I occasionally use it. I received it 10 years ago when I was preggers with my first child (umm OK maybe 11 years ago) and I have upgraded the phone a few times but have the same plan: $19.00 a month, 60 minutes of talk, no texts, per month. I have gone over my allotment of talk only 2 months ( consecutive months in 2006 when my land line was in Verizon hell). I do not like my phone, rarely have it with me and if I do, chances are it hasn't been charged or I have forgotten to turn it on. I realize that as I have my children with me most of the time this is a luxury I am able to have and I understand I am on one end of a spectrum. I do not expect everyone to follow my oh so sage advise to ditch their phones and live more in the moment but please, can we come up with a few sacrosanct rules to follow ( unless we are talking life and death)?
1) No cell phones in bathrooms...that includes the toilet AND the shower.
2)No cell phones in restaurants (at the table). You really do speak louder when you are on them even if you don't think you do, ( you do!).
3) No cell phones while working out, especially while participating in a group exercise class. ( Yes, this happens way more frequently than you might imagine) Also, treadmill and other exercise equipment should be free of talk unless the person in next to you working up a sweat as well. If your call is important enough to answer, then move your lazy self out in a common area, I mean you ARE there to move about yes?
4) Doctor offices or perhaps waiting rooms in general ( please get up and walk away).
5) Please, never answer your phone while you are in the middle of a conversation with someone else. Basically, you are telling that person that a new, more important, interesting, person has come along and you prefer to talk to them.
and finally, I know I will get some flack for this one but what the hey:
6) Driving. I mean really, how often is that conversation worth the risk? Yeah Yeah I know, you are careful, you slow down, you drive fine, you pay attention, it is no different than any other distraction. I get it, we all rationalize this one. But I doubt anyone can honestly tell me they have never drifted off and lost attention during a call, (yes, only for a moment and nothing happened) but please, I run, and I almost get nailed every day I am out there... Odds are that luck will run out eventually. Hang up and drive your car.
Life is too short to ignore your surroundings, to navigate this planet plugged into another realm where the people you talk to are not around you is really bad. Being impolite or rude is one aspect of the overuse of cell phones but do we not lose a bit of ourselves and our lives and our experiences as we fall into an electronic void? Life is too short and life is too fun. I mean really, is that call SO important that you must answer it? Cell phones (all phones for that matter) ought to be there for OUR convenience, not the other way around, you do not HAVE to answer the phone when it rings. Now don't even get me started on texting....
No comments:
Post a Comment