Life Untethered

I left my phone for a little while today.

It was really difficult.

It’s a nice phone, and I enjoy using it.

I like how it keeps me connected to so many people in so many places doing so many different and wonderful things.

But I was in a hurry, and I left it on the charger in my office.

It was somewhat frightening at first. That empty feeling on your hip, the tell-tale shift in weight distribution that tells you that something isn’t right.

That something is missing.

That you are adrift.

That somewhere, something might happen, and someone might want to tell you about it. You know, the important things that happen, buried in the wash of the unrestrained river of Fauxlaroids documenting an about-to-be eaten meal.

Or maybe, just maybe, someone on the internet is wrong, and I will be woefully out of position to make it right.

Heaven forbid, an acquaintance of mine inaccurately quotes a song lyric.

Maybe I will miss the notification that someone Liked something I shared. And in being late to know, I will not be in position to Like their comment right back. Or maybe I won’t be there to tell them that my quote above is inaccurate on purpose, just to tweak those who have the disease worse than I.

It’s a very nice phone.

I hope it doesn’t get stolen.

I convince myself that in the brief time to and from the restroom, that it probably won’t be purloined from its perch. Because as smart as smartphones are, they don’t get up and walk away just yet.

When I came back, it was still on its tether. It was still charging, preparing me for the evening ahead.

And I wondered.

Which of us would last longer without being plugged in?