Life Without a Cell Phone

WARNING:  You will not see any cute photos in this post.

I was recently reminded of how life was without a cell phone. After a busy day, I came home, dropped everything, and took my twins outside.  The sun was shining, and the weather was warm.  I knew we needed to come out of hibernation.

If you’ve ever tried to get little ones out the door, you can imagine the adventure of making sure the two had clothing, socks, and shoes. Then, we had to have a potty stop.  Nothing worse than getting outside and someone suddenly having a potty emergency!

Then, we had to stop in the garage to collect bikes and outdoor toys…and finally we made it into the backyard!

I realized that I hadn’t grabbed my phone, but I wasn’t going to go back in for it.  After all of the work to get out the door, it wasn’t worth the trouble.  My older ones would know where to find me.

I’d love to say I didn’t have thoughts of missed calls or missed Facebook notifications.  It did go through my mind, but I let it go.  It was more important to embrace the moment.

Wow…it was a beautiful experience.  I played “school” at the swing set, even reviewing a little phonics.  I ran around and played freeze tag in my dress boots.  We also practiced our swinging skills (legs straight out, then bent back).

Why was this time so special?  What made it different?

No cell phone.  No stops to take a picture.  No interruptions of ringers or pop-up notifications.  Just being and living in the moment.

I’m old enough to remember life without cell phones.  I remember having these moments frequently with my older ones.  This day with my twins reminded me of the power I have to detach from the virtual and embrace the reality, the life happening outside of a phone.

I share this experience to encourage you as parents to do the same thing. Experience life without a cell phone.  I’m sure you will be blessed as much as I!