Life, Unplugged

As I have managed to achieve a pretty impressive age, I remember life before computers, copiers and cell phones. I don't want to brag but I have actually used a ditto machine, depended upon carbon paper to create copies and survived a life without a fax machine. I took typing in high school (God bless Edison High School's beloved Mr. Louie) and it has served me well for decades.

I don't dislike modern options and have historically been a pretty cheerful adopter of emerging technologies, but I do hold a fondness for the old way of doing things. As the young wife of an active-duty Marine, I would wait weeks for the delivery of handwritten letters mailed from foreign ports. Today, few people understand the thrill of opening a mailbox and finding a long-awaited letter. Postal suspense was deliciously bittersweet. Every delivery day without a letter left me with longing and I spent Sundays feeling bereft, but all sadness would be forgotten when the mailbox was filled with envelopes.

Years later, when cell phone service was still relatively new and limited, I purchased a home in Baja California. I would spend long weekends and all my vacations in Mexico. While I used a cell phone regularly in my daily life, I would lose coverage shortly after crossing the border. I considered it a gift, slipping into a blissful state of disconnection. I still remember the depressing moment my cell phone first rang on the drive down. The cell service coverage area had expanded without me realizing it and I received a call from my boss. It was the end of an era and I am still slightly bitter,

Now, after decades of working in an environment that kept me constantly tethered via cell phone and email, I am now embracing the opportunity to disconnect. Before I stopped working, there was an expectation that I always be online. Colleagues would send meeting invitations late at night, unreasonably expecting my attendance on pre-dawn calls. I missed more than a few because I refused to check my email at 2 am. Retirement has a way of freeing you from technology. I have become very comfortable with shutting down my cell phone and ignoring my email. I am comfortably giving myself permission to be present and remarkably focused on activities that don't involve any technology at all. I still like technology but now I choose to leverage it in a way that serves me well.

The only downside is that, as I was often not easily accessible to friends and family while I was still working, there are some who hoped that I would become "differently tethered". That, once the demands of my job disappeared, I would have infinite time for chats and online correspondence. The sad reality is that I don't love talking on the phone. I never have. I do enjoy connection and I certainly stay in touch.... just not at the frequency that other people choose. I am sure that I have disappointed more than one friend by forgetfully walking away from my phone to focus on a book or drift in the pool.

To those I have disappointed thus far, please know it's never my goal to ignore you and it isn't personal. A wise person once told me that the secret to success was remembering and embracing one simple fact; every morning, I have the power to decide how I will spend my energy. I choose to treat technology as a helpful tool, not a tether. I am reframing this change as a chance to inspire. Technology may make it easy to be tethered but do we really have to do it? I vote no.

P.S. Please note....I totally get the irony of a blog post that brags about disconnecting from technology. I may be retired but I am not a nitwit. Sarcastic responses enthusiastically invited.