Gypsy Soul

Last night after playing a double header (and winning both games) a few of my teammates and I went out for a drink.  As soon as we were all sitting down, every single person was staring at their phone.  I get it, I normally am as well, but I never go out.  I don't go to bars, I don't go to parties, I stay inside my little shell and venture outside of it once every five months. I commented about it saying "Look at all of you Facebooking.  I'm disconnecting for the night and you should too." I did pick up my phone twice but was never on it for more than a few seconds.  

I see it everywhere.  

Yesterday a guy in my neighborhood was walking his dog and trying to text as his German Shepherd pulled him around like an idiot.  Did he put the phone away? Nope. 

Or talking with a friend who must love the stories you tell so much because they never look away from the screen throughout the whole conversation.

Or that person who leisurely walks through the parking lot not noticing at all that you are trying to drive.

I can remember eating dinner with my daughter once and playing on the computer at the same time.  As I was scrolling through some blogs, it said 

"Put the technology away. Your kid is in front of you and you are in front of a computer. Life is short. Go be with your family. You can't get these times back. Talk to your children!"  

Obviously I am paraphrasing, but I understood so clearly.  I immediately shut my laptop and enjoyed my dinner away from the world wide web.  I felt kinda crappy about it, too. Not shutting the computer but thinking back on how many times that may have happened. I am not always online during dinner, but I am more often than I should be.  And of that, I am ashamed. 

I am also a rusher.  I don't like waiting. I don't like people who are late.  I don't like making last minute plans.

My daughter is a free-spirit. An old soul even. She has been this way since she was one?  Studying the ladybug she would find on her finger or blowing on blades of grass. She notices every crack in the sidewalk, the hawk in the tree, each butterfly, bumblebee, and ladybug. She knows each flowers name and which cloud is the puffiest one in the sky. She loves to be active and in the same breath she can be excruciatingly lazy.  She walks at a turtles pace and she has absolutely no regard for time.  I am constantly saying "Move it!" or "Hurry up." or even "You are so slow!"  I know it drives her crazy whenever I say it, but she also knows her disregard for my schedule drives me crazy as well.  My daughter is busy enjoying the life around her while I am busy trying to get where we need to go whether it to bed or to softball.

My little bird. Empire, MI 

The point is we have all lost focus.  We are stuck in such a "need it now" world that we are losing the ability to even know how to slow down... or the ability to stop and smell the roses.  Can't we walk the dog and leave our cellphone at home?  Can't we walk from the car to the grocery store without taking our iPhones out of our pockets and checking in on FourSquare that we are at Kroger?  Can't we have dinner without scrolling through other people's status updates or watching YouTube videos?   I don't know if we can anymore. We are building this society where being on said technology, all day every day, is normal. And it is not normal.  It is not okay.

We losing some of the greatest gifts we have been given. Eachother.

And I for one am going to hug my kid, tell her I love her and maybe smell some roses with her.



*Note: This was written at 5am when my little dear was fast asleep so bah humbug to you*