DIGITAL DEPRIVATION...

Monday:  Woohoo, fun week ahead!  I was so excited to be accompanying my husband on a business trip without the worries of leaving teens at home, that I made a major mistake.  He had gone a day ahead of me, so I was on my own getting to the airport.  For some reason I thought it would be no problem to exercise, pack, clean the house and water the plants before leaving the house at 1:30 p.m.  Before I knew it, it was noon and I hadn't finished packing yet.  Then I checked my flight times and saw that I needed to go about 15 minutes earlier, so I panicked...and I remembered everything except...MY PHONE.

No problem, I'll just do this the old-fashioned way this week.  Parking was nerve racking, and I had to go all the way to the top of the parking garage to find a space.  Not long after that, security was calling for the "person who left their makeup bag and sunglasses at the checkpoint" - whoops!  Then my flight was delayed twice, so I started to realize I would not make my connecting flight...

I started calling my husband and son on the pay phone at the airport.  Four different times.  Of course, neither of them was answering this unknown number showing up on their phone!  Finally a man in my waiting area took pity on me and asked if I was on the flight that hadn't even left its previous destination yet...and I said yes and spilled my guts about how I didn't know what to do and had left my phone at home.  He was very kind and started looking up flights on his phone and told me just what to do.  Another embarrassing moment came when my name was called over the airport loudspeaker for me to "call your husband." He'd finally gotten my previous messages and so I called him back on the pay phone.  The Hubs told me to buy a phone at an electronics store in the next airport.  Ok, no problem...

So I made it to the next airport and couldn't find an electronics store and it was getting late.  I asked and was told there was one two terminals away.  No way was I going to attempt that.  I walked down another hall and saw a Best Buy vending machine!  Did you know they sell electronics in vending machines?  How weird and WONDERFUL!  I bought a little phone for $54 that said "ready to use" on the box.  Well, their idea of ready to use is a little different than mine...After piddling around and buying some food and looking around in a book store, I decided I'd better open the box and check out the phone.

I discovered I needed to insert the battery, sim card, and charge the thing!  Thankfully I had about 30 minutes before boarding the next flight.  Got it charged, but it still didn't work.  As I was getting on the plane, another nice man came and sat one seat away from me.  With his computer, CD player and headphones, he looked like a guy who might be able to help me.  So I asked for help.  It actually took us about 15 minutes and multiple times trying to put the sim card in different ways to get it to work, but it finally did!  I got a call in to my husband right before the plane took off.

It didn't take long for me to feel really LOST and unsure what to do without my phone.  Everyone around me seemed to be looking at their phones, computers, or other devices.  Only one person noticed my weird behavior, I guess, going back and forth to the pay phones.  Then even when I had gotten one, how to work the thing!  Thankfully, with the kindness of strangers, I was taken care of...I was saying prayers of blessing for those two!  

I'm resolving today to be more aware of those around me and less into my digital devices!  A little digital deprivation was good for me, I think...