What do you get when you cross two cell phones, one land line, three desktops, one macbook, five instant messages, and one seriously frustrated email? Well, for starters, you get 6 missed calls on both cell phones followed up by 2 voicemails. After you pick those up you head to your desktop and the screen is covered in instant messages that look something like this:
paulc0x: hello?
paulc0x: anyone home?
paulc0x: where are you????
paulc0x: pick up at least one of those darn phones!
paulc0x: for crying out loud......
Then you gingerly open up your email and somewhere between the Old Navy 20% off sale email and the Provo City Library late notice you get an easy to read one liner entitled: Call Me Please.
Poor guy. He equips his wife with technology up the wazzoo and what does he get when trying to communicate with the homefront? A ghost town. So sad. Tragic really.
Doesn't he know that the only sure fire way of getting my attention is to stand at my side, pull on my shirt and pinch my arm while screaming "Mommmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!". Even then you may get a busy signal but at least you have a chance.
Now I am trying to relate this to some deep, meaningful life lesson. After years of Primary training I can relate anything to a gospel principal. A stick of gum, the scuff on the walls by the shoe closet, even the blinking cursor that waits for the next letter to be typed.
I think I will leave this one up to you though. See if you can't wax philisophical. I will steal Rachels idea and offer up a prize. Hand delivered. Your choice of one of the following:
Menu Item Number 1: Gourmet Dipped Apple (my personal favorite)
Menu Item Number 2: Gorgeous Salad (thinking of you, dear Kristen)
Menu Item Number 3: Flowers (Costco.....I have a love affair with Costco flowers....)
The gauntlet has been thrown. Let the games begin!
4 comments:
The philosophical basis for my comments revolve around the 'use it or lose it' idea.
Just like the parable of the 10 talents -- those who do not USE the talents (or in this case, technology) that they've been blessed with, LOSE the talents they've been blessed with.
Hence I've placed preliminary phone calls to the cellular and internet service providers and have acquired an agreement from them to officially shut down your service if you exceed a certain number of Missed Calls.
And the moral of this story IS --
"mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. MOOOOooooooom!!!! ANSWER THE PHONE! DAD IS CALLING!"
I feel the same way. It's funny how often I miss calls or text messages.
I wonder if the technology helps us or stresses us? There are times I'll purposely ignore my phones/computer/etc. just so I can take a "time out" to spend time by myself.
I have a funny story. My cell phone doesn't get service at the school so I feel like it is pointless to take my cell when I go there. One day I didn't take my cell and Steve tried to get a hold of me. When he found out he gave me a hard time. Even when I explained that it wouldn't have mattered because my cell doesn't get service when I'm in the building.
I used to stand at the sink, doing dishes while novels downloaded themselves into my head. Later, I would say to the kids - why do you keep saying my name over and over - I'm right here! I don't think that Heavenly Father is like that. I don't think he worries about downloading novels or the IRS or whether his family really likes him all that much, or how he's going to get the weight off or if he's going to remember to pay something or if he's going to get dementia. I'm not sure, in other words, that I see much evidence of divine nature in myself.
I suppose we should say that the kids are where our focus should be, adopting a sort of "sufficient to the day is the evil thereof" philosophy. But I'm not sure that's right. Because our own lives are important too. If the whole world implodes and we're left with nothing but the business of spending spring, summer and winter preparing our stores for winter, all working together with no phones at all, maybe that would be the best thing.
Which things do I need to stop thinking about? Certainly not how to secure myself nursing home insurance, because when the time comes that I'm going to need it, I'll finally have nothing in my head to interfere with the moment.
Yesterday I hit the river trail. As usual, Jadon was sitting in his little throne and we toodled along. I had the most amazing experience. Something incredible happened.
I have have ridden/walked/run down that river trail a million times thinking that I am taking it all in. I look around.....I see things......ooooh, how pretty....how cool....etc. Yesterday, something happened. I stopped seeing with my eyes and I started to hear with my ears. All of a sudden a whole new world in which I'd not partaken of opened up to me. It was beautiful. It was unreal. I had no idea so many birds were existing right above my head. I'd hear the usual Robins and Mallards......an occasional screech from some other bird.....I think that I have grown so accustomed to the "noise" of the river trail that I never considered there might be another way of seeing and listening. That beyond the noises that I'm used to, if I trained my ears on them....would take my black and white world and turn it color. I came home so elated. Ready to face what was placed before me.
That is what came to mind when I read your story. I'm so used to the incessent squawking of Robin's that I tuned everything else out.
Another way of looking at your story is very much like my scripture reading, church and temple attendance, etc. I read my scriptures and I'm half asleep....I go to church and I'm so busy either chatting with others getting caught up on the latest and greatest gossip :) or I'm fiddling with kids.....I go to the temple and I hear how people go and learn something new each and every time and I just try to make it through without falling asleep and slobbering on my neighbors shoulder that my head has mistakenly perched on for the last 1/2 hour........I listen and watch conf. but I'm so busy trying to get my kids to listen that I forget to listen myself.......and through all of this Heavenly Father is saying, "hello, anybody there??? Hello, it's all here. You just need to wake up and feast. Hello Rachel, would you pleaaaaaze wake up and listen to me? Hello Rachel, I'm trying real hard here. I've given you all of the tools, the greatest gifts, gadgets, technology. All you need to do is "show up". RACHEL WOULD YOU PLEASE OPEN YOUR EYES???"
So many times I get irritated because I'm prompted by the Holy Ghost and danged if I don't just up and ignore it. I keep trying to tell myself that if I want to learn to recognize the Holy Ghost better I better start listening!!!
So there ya go. Thaz what I think of your story. I think it stinks cuz I can relate it way too many ways and they all point to my failures. :D LOL!
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