Unplug ME!

My father was hyper-focused.  It was a curse and a blessing. For instance, if I were coming from four hours away in summer traffic, he would sit in his chair from early in the morning anticipating, waiting for my arrival.  If he called his doctor with a question, he would wait by the phone for days at a stretch, never leaving the house by chance the physician would call.   It seems that my father was always directing his attention to the future and forgot to notice the joys of the present.

The instantaneous nature of technology has created a formally patient person into a person who is searching for immediate responses and results.  Could it be that it is reformatting my brain?  The convenience of the i-phone gives me instant access to work, family and friends despite the distance or the hour.  When I can’t sleep, I reach for my i-phone.  Perhaps I got that email from my boss. I think at 3 a.m.  As I begin access through de-lock codes, passwords and such.  It gets worse from there. Oh I forgot to send an email to a parent. I forgot to confirm the dentist appointment for the kids.  I’ve got to check my (electronic) ‘To Do’ list.  Did my sister answer my private message on Facebook yet? 

Aside from professional reports, I used to write exclusively in journals with pen in hand.  Recently, I learned that I keep up with my flurry of thoughts better through the keyboard.  With access to wireless, the computer becomes so much more than just a glorified typewriter.  There have been so many times that I have thought about the negative impact it has had in my life.  Before bed, I check my email, check my texting application, check my email again, check Facebook and then check my email, Facebook, email until I pull myself out of the trance. I waste so much time aimlessly checking for human connection through the wires.  And my husband, my sweet husband is right beside me.  Certainly, a sad state of affairs.