Relationship With My Phone

I've been so busy posting updates to the Care Pages site, I've found little time to get additional thoughts down here-- but I'm going to try.

One of the interesting things I've discovered in the last two weeks is how much I love having my phone for updating the Care Pages, checking in with family who are at the hospital or keeping them updated when I'm the one sitting bedside. It allows us to instantly gather everyone when things go south, text and not disturb Saran while she sleeps, send emails to coordinate clergy visits, food drops, car and kid hand-offs, etc., etc., etc. The phone has so many uses and is so portable, I stopped bringing my backpack with my laptop and a book to the hospital, 'cause I never took them out. But,

I HATE MY PHONE. Everytime it rings, dings, or shakes, my stomach flip-flops. I need the news like the hit of drug, but I dread what it will say. Any unknown number or unexpected text could be salvation or damnation. I can't go to the bathroom or take a shower without checking the volume and setting it on the vanity. I pat my pocket constantly to make sure my phone is still there, then I pull it out to make sure I didn't miss a text or call. It is the last thing I look at before I close my eyes to sleep and the first thing I look at when I open my eyes in the morning. When I get the 20% low battery message, I panic and playing Angry Birds or surfing the web to pass the time feels like I am misusing my battery life. I am learning the dead-zones in the hospital, and I worry when I pass through them. I can't relax when little boy Bean wants to play games on it.

I can see why Sarah began to have the same relationship issues with her phone after she got the listing letter from Mayo. I can't begin to imagine how this process worked before we were this connected. I see the sign that says 'telephones' and points down the hall, and I thank the technology gods I don't have to walk down there to try and reach the house phone at my parents.

If you'll excuse me now, I have to check Facebook, text messages, missed calls, battery life, Care Pages, my todo lists and my emails. Now if someone will just create an app for the extra have cup of coffee I really need.

Osaru