Tidbit

I do not have, nor do I want, a cell phone. I'm not sure how many people have had to experience this, but when you tell someone that you don't have a cell phone, they look at you like you like your closest relative has died.

"I'm so sorry... I had no idea. You looked so happy."

"You don't have a cell phone? What, do you hate technology? Do you have a computer?"

"No cell? Where are you from?"

I used to be one of those people that had a cell phone pressed up against their ear non-stop. I never answered my cell phone during a movie or a play, but that's only because I actually wanted to watch the show.

While we were in Texas, and the first month of living here, we had cell phones. The reception in the area is awful and we had the worst provider possible as far as customer service goes. Against our better judgment, we signed a 2 year contract with Sprint on the condition that we could cancel our plan, at any time, with no cancellation fee since My Husband is in the military.

Sprint screwed us. Hard. We ended up fighting for months to get the cancellation fees waived, and finally settled on having them cut in half. They did not want to do it, but a previous rep had left a note (thankfully.... most of them promised the world but didn't leave any notes) saying that they could waive the cancellation fee on one line. $500 and a lot of emotional trauma later, I vowed that we would not have cell phones until we could find a good plan that worked for us.

We stopped looking about 7 months ago.

At one point, we got "emergency" pre paid Virgin mobile phones. I love Virgin Enterprises and have always had great luck with them. All we had to do was buy minutes and load them onto the phone. Easy peasy. I can only think of one time that I actually used that phone. I was shocked that I even had it with me, and was even more surprised that it had a charge.

We eventually forgot about the phones and never put any more minutes on them. The minutes expired, along with our phone numbers.

There are times when I really wish that I could call My Husband and see if he picked something up, or just remind him that I love him... but I wouldn't trade our newfound freedom for anything.

When you have a cell phone, people want to get ahold of you 24 hours a day. Even if you turn your phone off, there's a pile of text messages waiting for you when you turn it back on. What part of that sounds appealing?

People are always loudly wondering how we ever lived without cell phones. Quietly! We didn't have to raise our voices in a restaurant just to be heard over someone screaming about their infected toenails. Before everyone had a cell phone, I never heard someone talk about 'that time they got crabs' in line at the DMV. Sermons were not interrupted by these annoying personalized ringtones.

Sure, they have their perks. You can call AAA if you car dies on the freeway. You can call and get directions while en route. Show times are just a few buttons away. You can get updates on everything sent straight to your phone so you are always ahead of the curve.

To me, the convenience is not worth the hassle. Be happy that I'm not answering your call, because I might be in the bathroom or 'in the middle of something'. So, the next time you try to call me and I don't answer, leave me a message and I will get back to you eventually.