CrackBerry
Friday, January 15th, 2010
Do you use Twitter?
I have tweet texts pinging my BlackBerry all day long.
One day, I turned Twitter updates off on my phone, just to take a break. I found myself periodically checking to see if my phone was working because it was so quiet. Some people like to have a television on in the background of their daily lives. Me, I prefer the running commentary of my micro-blogging friends.
I’m addicted to my BlackBerry. Between reading daily email digests (for Healthy Moms, Cozi, Mom Spark, etc…), to commenting on Facebook and scheduling tasks and appointments, I do everything on it. I tweet and text while driving (eesh, did I just say that? No I don’t). I take notes at concerts, at the playground, at the elementary school, at the restaurant, at the bar, at the party. I do put it away at the movies.
I don’t go anywhere without my BlackBerry. I was at Restaurant Picco in Larkspur the other night with five lovely women celebrating a friend’s birthday. White table clothes, candles glowing, and wine glasses clinking as we toasted another year, girlfriend time. Then tink—a text message. I had to check it. I had my BlackBerry discreetly placed in my lap, just in case.
In case of what? The kids call to wish they were with me so they could stay up later than when they’re with their dad? In case a long lost friend finds me on Facebook and I have to tell them right now how excited I am to hear from them after all these years? In case I win the latest blogging contest on Twittermoms and they text to award me a Target gift certificate?
The other moms had their phones buried in the bottom of their purses, under the piles of coats off to the side, five feet away from the table. How could they?
I knew I was addicted to my BlackBerry when my daughter pleaded with me one day, “You don’t love me, you’re always on your phone. Pay attention to me.” And I caught myself slipping the BlackBerry into my pocket knowing that in a few minutes I would go quietly into the bathroom to check it again, this time where she couldn’t see me.
Some people chew gum constantly; others chain smoke or drink. This can’t be healthy. Me, I’m trying to control what sometimes seems out of control, my life. Taking charge, putting a sense of order to it by making notes and prioritizing tasks, enjoying a little entertainment and interesting reading throughout the day.
How did moms ever live without this little tool that does it all? How can I?
ABOUT THIS AUTHOR
Sheila McCormick Whitescarver earned a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of California in Santa Barbara before moving to Colorado to work on a hay and cattle ranch in the Rocky Mountains. While skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and snowshoeing, she also sold real estate and worked in marketing. Six years later she came back to California and continued a career in consulting and marketing, before moving into teaching. She currently teaches New Venture Creation and Microeconomics at the College of Marin in Kentfield, CA. Always a reader and often a writer, Sheila is writing regularly for www.Life360.com/blog. She tweets and blogs about cool family activities, staying safe while taking risks, new products, and parents doing fun and exciting things. Sheila has two beautiful children that encourage her stories and feed her blog daily. When they’re not out on adventures like ice-skating and cycling, or home doing science experiments, you’ll probably find her running the trails of Mt. Tamalpias. Sheila lives in Marin County with her son and daughter, ages 7 and 9 and two cats, Polly and Olivia. Check out her blog at www.life360.com/blog
4 Comments
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ha! I love this! I use my iphone for everything and can’t go five minutes without looking at it. I often sneak off to the bathroom to check it. A whole dinner without checking-never!
hi shiela,
it is an attention getter having communication at the touch of ones fingers. i too find myself not wanting to go long without checking my e mail or at times texting my son or daughter. have to say though in the days when moms did not have these devices their imaginations must have been very vivid.
You know Cynthia, I feel like my imagination is quite active, but often it is in the process of trying to come up with ways of managing all the information coming into my brain through all the many knowledge sources we have these days. So much to see, to do, to chose from.
But you’re right too in that a day spent camping or out in nature without media can be the most special, creating games to play and character stories to act out. thanks for your comment.
Hi, I like the Shrek movies, very good film!