last week I made a major blunder.
I took daaniya swimming along with my phone. yes. you read that right. I took my phone along for the swim. the thirty minute class. the totally immersed in chlorinated water kinda swim.
I said it was a major blunder, ok?
so obviously I didn’t know I had my iphone along for the swim. I realized as I was walking out of the pool and wondering what that thing sticking out the side of my leg was. (I wear workout leggings and this pair had a convenient/not-so-convenient side pocket. oops.
I had it immersed in another substance for a few days after that. rice. I had heard such good reviews and positive outcomes about this method and didn’t hesitate to give it a try.
I was calm. I was cool with it. what was done was done. don’t get me wrong; I felt bad, and pretty dumb for it, but wasn’t about to beat myself up over it. it’s just a thing at the end of the day.
so I went phone-free for the longest time since I had a phone in the first place. that was about 15 years ago!
here’s how it went -
I made artichokes! so easy and really yummy. I used this video to teach me how to prep my ‘chokes, and a really simple recipe to grill them. you can find a million and one on pinterest that tickles your fancy.
I finalized a few details, including the packaging, for my shop. yeah!
I sorted out the girls and my clothes for all the events for my cousins wedding celebrations this week. the girls got into it. and yes, there were clothes everywhere - there are a lot of events!
me and the girls cuddled more. read more. talked more.
I felt freer. lighter. when I left the house I didn’t have to worry if I had my phone on me or not. i knew i had everything i needed.
after a few days I went to check in on my phone. they say after a few days sitting the rice soaks up all the moisture and your device should work like new-ish. haha. that did not happen to me. after a little further research I found that chlorine is the worst thing your phone can get near. the chemical totally fries the phone after a short dip! basically I lost the game before I started with my silly situation.
because life gets busy I didn’t have the chance to go out and buy a new phone right away. so I made an appointment with the genius bar when I could a few days later. all in all I ended up going just shy of 7 days without my beloved iphone. and i survived!
there were a few things I missed though -
I missed instagram and getting updated on the goings-on of those i follow, but didn’t miss the accessibility of it. I think I used to spend a lot of undue time on it and actually liked having my hands “free” to do other things.
I missed what’s app. it’s my mode of communicating with those closest to me. family chats, group chats with friends, picture swapping, inside joke telling, simple one-liner updating. while I did and do make the effort to see friends and family frequently I can’t do it everyday nor with everyone. we are all busy after all. so I felt a little out of the loop in this area.
and the last thing I missed really badly was the camera on my phone. it has become my go-to camera for home and work of late and the ipad, while good for many a thing, does not stack up when it comes to the click-clicking. I’m bummed about the photos I lost because of not backing up my phone (lesson learned big time!) but also for some of the moments missed this past week.
and I started to get annoyed with not having a phone to talk on to get things done for work. I resorted to our never-used home phone and ugh. dialing out numbers on that thing is mucho annoying.
so anyway, just about one week after the swimming episode, I’m plugged back in. but it’s funny. I’ve been slow to get fully back to it. and maybe I never will. my phone is not with me all the time anymore. and I don’t mind if it gets left at home accidentally. and it’s ok to not check in or be available all the time.
I think I’ve turned a new leaf and I like it!
has this ever happened to you? what would you fill your time with if you went smartphone-free?
also, I think I’m going to make this a thing. every so often I’m going to go “off the grid” on something. be it my smartphone, the internet (whoa! that’s big), to my current addiction, sugar. I’m going to let it be a mini challenge and a major lesson for myself in cutting back and exercising moderation.
ps. i obviously accomplished a lot more things last week. these were just a few highlights. just making sure you know and i know. ;)
i LOVE going off the grid… I never want to be fully dependant on any person, place or thing in life… ‘leaning’ is okay, but being dependant causes me anxiety (all the ‘whats ifs’ run through my mind)~ and at the end of day, those who DO need your ‘immediate’ attention, will ALWAYS know how to get it (with or without the aid of a contraption ;)… great post, T.