Last week my oldest son invited me to attend one of the shows here at the beach.  He had received 2 complimentary VIP tickets and decided he wanted to take me, his mom!  I was so delighted to be able to spend a Friday evening with him alone. Often when you have more than one child it is not easy to be able to have that one-on-one time. We were on our way to the show, with no time to spare, when I realized I had left my phone at home. I rarely go anywhere without it.  I started fretting and giving myself the third degree about forgetting it.  My son, at this point, was not very happy about my obsessing over not having my phone. He asked, “should we just go home because this is supposed to be a fun time for you and me and this is not fun!” That was what I needed. It was a wake up call! It is okay to be without a phone and spend time with someone, especially your child, without any interruptions. No rings, dings, or buzzes, no looking to see who the text was from or if someone answered any emails, just good quality time. We had a great time. In fact, was very relaxing to not have my cell.  I may need to leave it at home more often!

With the convenience of today’s technology we don’t become unplugged very often. In fact, it’s sometimes hard to believe there was a time when there was only a home phone on the wall. A  phone without an answering machine, or call waiting.  Leaving my cell phone at home was a great thing for me. It taught me how wonderful it is to enjoy life while it is happening and not be distracted by other things while you are in the moment. It may sound simple but unplugging ourselves from technology now and then is very healthy and will help us enjoy life’s moments with those who are around us.