• Home

Still A Dreamer

Life, art, animals, writing, children's books, dreaming …

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get …
The Great Blue Heron »

Fretting My Way into the 21st Century

May 14, 2020 by still a dreamer

It was inevitable. No matter how well products manufactured 30 or 40 years ago were made, sooner or later, they’re going to bite the dust.

So I bid a very fond farewell to my longtime, faithful AT&T cordless phone. It has seen me through more life events than I care to relate. And yes, of course it looks like an “old lady” phone, but if you can believe it, the battery in the handset has only needed to be replaced once in the approximately 35 years I’ve had it. You just don’t throw a phone like that in the trash, and that’s why I’ve kept it, homely as it might be, for all these years.

This phone and another upstairs which is plugged directly into the wall have been my landline, something I have known my entire life. When power went out in Superstorm Sandy, I still had phone service because the upstairs phone didn’t require electricity to run. It was a great security blanket, despite my having a little flip phone on a second line forever. But lately, the cordless has occasionally been staticky, dropped a call here and there, and the antenna is holding on by a thread. Not to mention the ridiculous price I was paying my carrier for the privilege of having a landline.

Time to join the 21st Century, like it or not. I am changing carriers and saving an amazing amount of money each year going forward — transferring my existing flip phone to a new model as my backup (in case the other needs to go to Apple for some reason), switching the landline to an iPhone; and going completely wireless. (Let me just say here … oy.)

Kicking and screaming? Not so much as fretting and panicking, and I’m not enjoying it at all. Since I am Mac based, I assumed this would be a breeze, but it’s not just the fact that I have to learn two new phones in a very short period of time. It’s that I’m giving up the security I’ve known all my life with a landline. I honestly never thought this would affect me the way it has. I’m almost embarrassed because this kind of stuff doesn’t usually rattle me. (And yes, that we are locked down in a global pandemic may be in play, too.)

Everyone assures me that I’ll have this all down in no time (probably true); that many, many people are completely wireless nowadays (I’m aware); and that once I am used to it, I’ll love it (undoubtedly true). But logic is rarely the best diffuser of anxiety.

In my experience, the only way to deal with this is to keep on moving through it, fretting and all, because curling up in a ball or going back to how it’s been are not options. I comfort myself each morning during periods of change by reading a particular section of this book by Deepak Chopra in the “Law of Least Effort” chapter, which reminds us that every tormentor or tyrant, each upsetting situation, is in our lives at this moment because it’s exactly what we need to evolve, and is the opportunity to create something new and beautiful. I do believe that’s true, and it’s what I’m holding on to.

So if I accidentally disconnect your call or inadvertently send you a partial text, please bear with me; I’m overcoming the loss of a security blanket. And I promise I’ll never be one of those people in the supermarket who cannot stop gabbing on their phone for two seconds. I’ll still be me, just looking a whole lot more 21st Century.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Home Stuff, Inspiration, Life, Reflections | Tagged 21st Century, anxiety, cell phone, Change, Deepak Chopra, Fear, iPhone, landline, life challenges, overcoming adversity, phone, Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, telephone | 18 Comments

18 Responses

  1. on May 14, 2020 at 4:25 pm Lavinia Ross

    Life is indeed changing for all of us, Jeanne. Best wishes going forward into the future! 🙂

    LikeLiked by 1 person


    • on May 14, 2020 at 5:51 pm still a dreamer

      It sure is, Lavinia, and in many good ways, too. It’s just an adjustment. Hope the current crisis is finding you well, safe, and balanced.

      LikeLiked by 1 person


      • on May 14, 2020 at 8:07 pm Lavinia Ross

        Definitely not bored. 🙂

        LikeLiked by 1 person


        • on May 15, 2020 at 9:09 am still a dreamer

          Me, neither!! 🙂

          LikeLiked by 1 person


  2. on May 14, 2020 at 4:28 pm Patricia Koelmel

    Jeanne, enjoy your new phones. Funny though … no way will they last as long as your old AT&T.

    LikeLiked by 1 person


    • on May 14, 2020 at 5:54 pm still a dreamer

      Thanks, I know I will, regardless of any current hesitation. And you’re not kidding about how long they’ll last. There’ll probably be another OS at the end of the year, and I’ll need a new phone in 4 or 5. And so goes digital life, eh?

      LikeLike


  3. on May 16, 2020 at 3:33 pm Andrea Stephenson

    I don’t blame you at all Jeanne. We still have a landline and if I have to make important calls I always still prefer to use that rather than a mobile – even though it’s cordless. Strange the tricks our mind plays. I do sometimes think it would have been useful to keep a wired handset in case of Armageddon, but then it probably wouldn’t be much use then 🙂

    LikeLiked by 1 person


    • on May 17, 2020 at 12:33 pm still a dreamer

      It has a lot to do with what we’ve known all our lives, I think. However, if it’s any encouragement, now that I’m learning the iPhone? It is totally amazing, and I’m pretty sure you’d pick it all up quickly. First, I’m mastering making calls and texting on it, but one of the reasons I bought a newer version – XR – is because of the camera, and THAT, Andrea, I know you would love.

      LikeLike


      • on May 17, 2020 at 4:26 pm Andrea Stephenson

        I’ve got an iPhone – I caved in and got a newish version recently – not the latest one but one of the modern ones – but we’ve still got the landline 🙂

        LikeLiked by 1 person


        • on May 17, 2020 at 5:47 pm still a dreamer

          Aaah … just not ready to cut the cord! (literally) LOL

          LikeLiked by 1 person


  4. on May 17, 2020 at 1:24 pm Becky Ross Michael

    I can certainly relate, Jeanne! I started using an android phone about 5 years ago when I moved. I’m just now getting more comfortable with short texts and taking photos:)

    LikeLiked by 1 person


    • on May 17, 2020 at 4:15 pm still a dreamer

      I am so comforted to know that this is not just me! Thanks for sharing. We will forge on!! 😀

      LikeLiked by 1 person


  5. on May 18, 2020 at 10:22 am Cheryl Capaldo Traylor

    Oh Jeanne. I understand this SO much. Although we are now wireless, cordless, and landline-free, it took a very long time to make the switch. I fretted over the decision for a couple of years. So, I get this! Now, it’s just second nature. And although I’m wireless, cordless, and landline-free, I’ve never felt more tethered! Ha! Go figure. All that to say change is hard:)
    That book, 7SLS, is one of my all-time favorite go-tos. For a slim edition, it packs a punch. There’s so much wisdom in each short chapter. I don’t think there’s a page in my copy without some underlining and asterisks. It is my favorite of the Chopra books I’ve read. I think our libraries may be similar:)
    Great post on impermanence and our resistance (reluctance?) to change, even the small things.

    LikeLiked by 1 person


    • on May 18, 2020 at 10:44 am still a dreamer

      I’m so glad others are saying this about going completely wireless. I honestly thought it had to be me being a scared-y cat. Yes, we are now tethered more than ever because wherever we go, now it goes, too!
      7SLS – really one of the best, and like you say – a lot of punch in a small space. (A master feat of editing, too!) It is all but attached to my journal and comes with me each morning in the event that I need some extra wisdom or inspiration. We would indeed love each other’s libraries. I have one bookcase I call my metaphysical bookcase, as that’s all that’s in it. And another 10 or 11 here in my office to dip in and out of when I’m in the mood. Sometimes they rotate. Ahhh … books are good!

      LikeLiked by 1 person


  6. on June 7, 2020 at 1:37 pm SaaniaSparkle 🧚🏻‍♀️

    Nice blog

    LikeLiked by 1 person


    • on June 8, 2020 at 12:39 pm still a dreamer

      Thanks, Saania. I appreciate it. 🙂

      LikeLiked by 1 person


  7. on June 13, 2020 at 10:23 am Cynthia Reyes

    Oh, dear Jeanne. We do have to change, but I’m still figuring out how to get new posts from the bloggers I follow. Something changed about 5 months ago, and I am still figuring that out! we also only gave up our old phone a few years ago, so you are in bad company, gurrrlll!

    LikeLiked by 1 person


    • on June 13, 2020 at 10:40 am still a dreamer

      We were just not raised in the digital world that young people totally take for granted, but huzzah! for us that we do our best to embrace it and grow with it in whatever time we do.

      LikeLiked by 1 person



Comments are closed.

  • My 1st Picture Book!

  • What I’m Reading Now

  • What I’m Also Reading …

  • Like what you see? Sign up and get an e-mail when I've posted something new.

  • Recent Posts

    • Missing Writing
    • The Season
    • Unexpected
    • Happy Halloween!
    • Where We’re Going
    • Creative Life
    • Drawing Angels
    • Win A Signed Copy of Butterflies!
    • Time Passes ….
    • My Dad
  • I write about ...

    Animals Art Authors Books Cats Children's Books Creativity food French Bulldogs Good Reads Helping Out Holidays Home Stuff Illustration Inspiration Just Fun Life Metaphysical Nature Novels Photography Reflections Society Spiritual Writing

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Still A Dreamer
    • Join 151 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Still A Dreamer
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: