It was a beautiful Easter Sunday. Although not my holiday, it is a day I happily celebrate with my in-laws, and we always have a terrific time. There is food galore, a frenzied and exciting Easter egg hunt, lots of laughter and more love than can fit in the house.
In the midst of the chaos and excitement and heat-wave that was Easter 2017, I excused myself to the go the bathroom. The window was open and I stood there for a moment, enjoying the sounds of the kids squealing outside. Then I picked up my phone and checked to see if I had any messages. I may have also scrolled through Facebook, because like it is for any mom of young kids, time in the bathroom is precious “me time.”
I stood up, washed my hands, checked my lip gloss and promptly knocked my phone into the toilet.
Are you kidding me?
I have never moved so fast in my life. I retrieved my device, dried it as best as I could, ran outside to tell everyone—and on their advice, put my rose gold beauty in rice.
And then I had to wait 24 hours to see if the solution had worked.
After about 15 minutes, I started to sweat. And though the weather was nice, it had nothing to do with the temperature. I am so attached to my phone that not being able to look at it when I wanted to was actually giving me a panic attack. My hands were clammy and my mind was distracted. Even though there was nothing I needed my phone for right then, I was immobilized with fear as to what I would do if my phone was soon going to be headed to the junkyard.
Several hours later when we got home, I was able to check my iPad for urgent email issues. Other than that, I had to wait.
But here’s the thing: after the panic had subsided, life without my phone was calmer. Life without my phone was less distracting. And life without my phone was also frustrating. A thousand times, I wanted to go look up “What in the world am I supposed to do without my phone?!?!?!” on my phone, which I couldn’t use.
The next day, I held my breath and powered up my electronic friend. The screen came to life. Everything seemed fine. There were a few rice kernels wedged into places where they did not belong, but with a thumbtack and patience, I got them out. Back to normal.
And now? Now I am writing about the experience while it is fresh in my mind. And my phone? It’s sitting on the desk next to me safe and dry. There it will stay, while I write more today. There it will stay for the rest of the day. Because there are a lot more important things in this world than my phone.
This time of year is supercharged with energy, all the events and holidays of spring. I do not need to add to the craziness with my over-reliance on my phone. I get it, universe. Lesson learned, in the funniest way.
Either leave the phone aside for a while, or for crying out loud, make sure the toilet lid is closed!
