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Can you go five days phone-less?

December 31, 2014 By Christine Field

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phone less

I didn’t plan to be phone-less for five days over Christmas.  The timing just happened that way.

I looked at a recent ATT cell phone bill and swallowed hard.  Normally under $100, this one was well over because we had excessively used the mi-fi capability while in Michigan winding things up with my father-in-law.  While it was logically probably reasonable, emotionally it was the last straw.

I’m not traveling as much so I no longer need fancy-schmancy phone service.   Even when I do travel, most restaurants now have wi-fi.

So what’s the point of a big service when your life is not so big?

I like my phone.  I have a Galaxy Note 2 and even though they are up to 4 now, I still like my phone.  I looked for a service where I could keep my phone, port my same number over from ATT and have a more reasonable monthly fee.

I settled on Straight Talk.  It seemed simple enough.  You go to a WalMart store, buy a transfer kit and ta-da it should be done.

Not quite.

In total, they ended up sending me 3 SIM cards – one to activate, one to assign a new number, one to receive the ATT number ported to the new service.  I spent more than a few hours on the phone and on Live Chat to accomplish this, but finally it’s done.  So far….so far.

It meant that I had NO phone service from Christmas Eve until recently.  A few friends did not receive timely Christmas calls, but other than that, it was … interesting.

First, I didn’t carry a cell phone for five days.  No need to.

It made me calmer.  I confess to looking at the phone pretty regularly.  I would say I am a moderate texter.  A few of my kids are super-texters.  But the reality of life is that texting is an efficient way to stay in touch.  With no texts or calls coming in, I wasn’t checking the phone every ten minutes.

I paid more attention to the people around me.  Do you know people whose faces you only see when they look up from their cell phones?  I don’t like that with my kids.  Without mom having a cell phone, we actually LOOKED at one another more often.

It’s hard to express, but a phone vacation made me feel more, well …. peaceful.  The world continued to turn, the lights stayed on, commerce continued, and Christmas came upon us – all without me having a cellphone.

It made me smile and remember the gift of being present.  It’s a gift the Lord gives to me and one that I can give to others.  It’s good.

 

 

Filed Under: Adventure, Technology Tagged With: Cell phone service, paying attention, Straight Talk

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Hi, I’m Christine

Have you been a wholehearted mother, but time, toddlers and teenagers have moved on? If you are wondering what comes next for you, you’ll feel right at home here.

Or, are you a mom for whom family life has been non-Pinworthy and parenting has been downright painful? I hear ya. There are many of us around.

Are you looking for a life full of exploration and adventure after the nest empties, but maybe you have no idea how to go about doing that? Stick around! We’ll explore adventures together to help you gain more clarity for your own path.

After a couple decades of writing books and articles about parenting, homeschooling and adoption, speaking to homeschoolers and other parent groups, and reaching out to the mom in the trenches who was trying to make the best of it - my kids grew up. Some grew up and grew away. I was determined to find a way out of the pain, emptiness and lack of direction.

For many of us, the journey starts with something we moms are not accustomed to. After years of caring for and serving others, sometimes we forget the beauty and wonder of US. We need to spend some time getting to know the parts of ourselves that have lain dormant, and take the time to explore interests and passions that we set aside.

I’d like to invite you to get the “What’s Next for Mom” workbook and jump into this growing tribe of Moms who are emptying the nest and filling the life! Let’s reignite your Mojo after Mothering!
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About Christine

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At Real Mom Life, my passion is to provide resources and reassurances for moms facing the surprising challenges of family life. In my writing and speaking, I explore solutions to unexpected issues in adoption, homeschooling, special needs, and more while encouraging moms to extract the maximum joy out of each day. Read More…

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