"Cellular Addiction"

Not so long ago I was fine without a cell phone glued to my person, 24/7. I managed to go through daily life driving a car and leaving home without any way whatsoever to contact another person unless, in case of an emergency, I had to stop at a pay phone.

I managed to have perfectly peaceful rides in the car going from point A to point B. I had nice dinners out in restaurants with my husband without getting a single phone call or text message, and it was probably much nicer that way. I am also sure it was much less rude.

Now, however, I find that we as a society are ridiculously dependent on our cell phones. If I leave my house and suddenly discover that I can't find my phone, I immediately ransack my purse, and when I come up empty my panic begins.

Next, I pat myself down, and when I have no luck there, my anxiety over not having it escalates into full blown panic mode.

I begin to have random thoughts like; what if someone tries to call me?, or I have a flat tire? What if someone is trying to send me a text message and I'm not there to receive it?

I might need to call someone, and not only will I not have my phone, but even if someone let me use their phone, I wouldn't know how to call anyone. I don't know the phone numbers of any of my "contacts". They are all stored in my phone and I have never memorized a single one of them.

I finally decide that the possibilities of my desperately needing my phone are absolutely endless and my anxiety level escalates to an all time high.

The next step for me, after reaching this point, is to began my attempt at rationalizing the entire situation. I start by saying things to myself like; I managed for the first 20 or so years of my life to leave home without the ability to contact another individual during my ride in the car and it was always okay.

I then tell myself that I'll be just fine without it, and that it might just be a more enjoyable ride. Then, I move on to; In fact, my entire day may be more peaceful and relaxing without the interruptions of people calling and texting me all day long about this and that.

During this long conversation with myself I ultimately decide that I can manage for one day without my phone...no big deal. I mean in a real 911 my family could call the school where I work and they would come and get me out of class.

I also know that if I have a flat tire someone would eventually help me, or worse case scenario, it would get extremely late, and one of my family members would need dinner, at which point they would notice that I was missing and form a search party for me. Right?

By this time I have talked myself down from my self-imposed escalating panic and of course I make it through the day without major incident. If truth be told, I usually enjoy the peace and quiet that comes with not having had the phone with me.

Maybe I should "accidentally on purpose" leave my phone at home more often. If I did this often enough, I may even reach the same conclusion about cell phones that my father has.

The last time I was at his house, and his cell phone rang while he and I were talking he looked at me real seriously, and said "I'll tell you what sugar, I'm about ready to take this thing outside and lay it down on my driveway and run over it."

I left his house that day smiling and thinking that he might just be on to something...