Ever get that feeling when you lay your head on your pillow at night, just before you doze off, that the day flew by? I'm not talking about a busy day, filled with appointments, errands, etc... I'm talking about so much stuff going on in a day that when the next day comes, you feel like what you did yesterday was really a week ago. What is that all about? I can remember when cell phones were invented. We were lucky enough to have a father who loved new technology and usually got his hands on it when he could afford it. We had one of the first Panasonic "bag" phones that weighed about 15 lbs and was larger than a computer. But man, that was the coolest thing ever. I mean, how neat was it to be able to call someone (at 35 cents a minute or whatever the rate was. I think I'm close) from the car. You would have thought that the invention of cellphones would have made life SO much easier. That it would've made relationships so much stronger.
Instead, we've allowed cell phones to weigh our lives down with extra activities, job calls, interruptions, to name a few. I know for one, my kids hate it when they've finally got my attention for whatever story or bug or game they want to show me and the first thing I do it grab my phone and take it with me...knowing that someone will text me or call me. They feel like they come second to my almighty cell phone, and in a way, they do. (Sometimes...) Come on, I'm not alone out there. This is going on in every family that I can think of, with the exception of my father who lives alone and doesn't annoy anyone while he uses 1500 minutes a month bothering all of his relatives with his depressing views of the world. Seriously, what happened to the days where if you left your house and God forbid, someone called and missed you, they LEFT A MESSAGE. And when you got back home, you'd call them back. WTF. What are we so afraid of: that we'll miss the Golden Opportunity of a lifetime? Someone wants to go T.G.I. Friday's for dinner? Oh man, we missed our chance!!!
And speaking of relationships, when was the last time someone actually used their cell phone to "call" someone? I have friends (and a mother) who won't even pick up their phone. You HAVE to text them if you want to say something. It's like small talk has completely closed it's doors and let's get down to business Ladies and Gentlemen. I'm not saying that I like small talk chat, because basically, I don't. It's just another way that the cellphone is trying to destroy our life by destroying relationships.
I will tell you, I just can't stand myself lately. I hate that I can be having a great time, trying to be excited about hearing my son tell me how to play HALO and which weapons do what and how many shots it takes to kill the bad guy with each one, and then my phone beeps with a text. Stone just glazes over, almost like to say "yeah, I figured that would happen and you wouldn't actually listen to me until I was finished." I feel like I have deprived him of so many decent conversations and that one day, that window will close and he won't share anything with me any longer, and he'll find someone who will listen to him until he's finished. And unfortunately, he will do the same for them and it'll probably not be of things that I want him to hear or know! I mean, isn't that how the majority of children get started doing drugs? They try to communicate with their pathetic parents, who blow them off so they can have a good time with their own friends, or MAKE DINNER, or check their emails. But they get nothing. Except interruptions. I had my daughter say to me the other day "I'm too busy right now." She's 2. I made the comment "Where'd she hear that?" when my son QUICKLY chimed in "you say it to her all the time mom, when you're on the computer!" My heart sank and so did my soul at the same time.
You see, it's ridiculous that we, as parents, can't see that emails, cellphones and TV suck the life out of US, not the kids. They actually learn from it. Not us. We don't need anymore useless information, we simply use it to dull the dead spots in our lives. Let me tell you, if your children annoy you, it's because they have to do everything that they can to get your attention. You have failed as a parent if your kids annoy you. They are a direct result of the effort you've put into them.
I cannot let another day go by where I say to my 2 year old that "Mom's too busy." Do I need a plan of action for after tonite, YES. I am heading in that direction right now...The kitchen table. To sit. To reflect. To see where my life needs to go. Blogging is fun, emails are fun, texting is contagious, to see my daughter function her way around YouTube is awesome. (Something she's learned on her own, basically...She's 2, remember?) I love that she knows all her colors and letters (since 20 months). But I cannot take the credit. TV, my 8 year old son, and YouTube takes the credit, they did the teaching. But not anymore. I am going to regain my parental rights by starting to act like one again.
If you read this post and I'm not here, please leave a comment and I'll get right back to ya!
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