Member-only story
Forgetting Your Cell Phone
It is not the end of the world
I left the house to run some Saturday errands. I got into my car, backed out of the garage, and started driving down the street. It then dawned on me that I had forgotten my cell phone. I could mentally picture it on the end table next to a chair in the family room.
Cursing under my breath, I prepared to do a u-turn back to the house to retrieve it. Then I had a thought. Do I really need it? Is it absolutely essential that my cell phone is with me?
I literally had everything I needed to complete my errands — my wallet to pay for my purchases, my car to get where I needed to go, and the list of items to purchase on a post-it note in my pocket. I made the decision to keep driving and see how well I could function without my cell phone.
That is a decision that others would never make. We all know someone who would tear an an appendage off their own body before parting with their cell phone for even an hour.
But you know what? I survived. I bought everything off my list and made it home with my sanity intact. I did not feel helpless or awkward without it. It felt different, but only because the jacket pocket where it normally would be was empty.
During those few hours without the cell phone, I realized how much I use it…
