The Toilet Made Me Unplug

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As soon as I heard the plop in the toilet, I knew I was in trouble. In an effort to keep my phone on me and not forget it at home during our road trip to Walt Disney World, I placed it in the back pocket of my jeans. My pregnant bladder caused me to have to run to the bathroom, yet again, before we left the house and locked up. I conveniently forgot to take the phone out of my pocket. Plop. Dunk. Gasp.

I grabbed up the phone immediately, wiped it off, cleaned it with a small towel I soaked in lysol, and tried my hardest not to panic. As I ran out to the car to greet my family who was patiently waiting for me, I felt the tears start to roll. My dear, sweet phone might be a goner. I told the husband about the heartbreaking event, and he immediately ran back upstairs to grab a tupperware full of rice and scolded me for trying to shake the water out of the phone. Silly, emotional tech junkie. The toilet made me unplug, against my will. I was hysterical.

After over 24 hours chilling in rice, and me panicking over the fact that the life of my digital personal assistant was hanging in the balance, we got her back. She was restored via my laptop (which we ended up having to bring, just in case).  While I was pretty much distraught the whole time I couldn’t use my phone, especially during the long road trip, I didn’t die. I was OK. Actually, we ended up having a wonderful experience during this road trip. My husband wasn’t vying for my attention, and neither were my kids. We had interesting conversations about politics, cartoon conspiracy theories, and what we were most excited to do once we reached Pop Century Resort. We talked. We laughed. We bonded. By the time we reached our resort, I’d come to the conclusion that I might have to be without my phone this trip. It would be difficult not to take pictures of our kids interacting within the parks, and immediately post them, but everything would work out in the end. I had tons of work to do via email, and social media, but it would all have to wait until down time back at our room each night. Phone calls couldn’t be answered. And that was OK.

Even though I eventually got my phone back, I made an effort to use it minimally. One of my favorite experiences during our trip was actually documented not by me, but by my husband. My daughter, with her personalized Cinderella Mickey ears, gasped when she met Cinderella at our Akershus Royal Banquet Hall breakfast. I didn’t have my phone. I was busy doing the “mom thing” and getting her some breakfast. I made it back just in time to see Cinderella greet our table, and hear my daughter’s excitement. I cried happy tears for her, and didn’t do it behind my phone while filming. It was a memory we’ll all share for years to come.

My husband was kind enough to send me the picture, but not until after breakfast. He’s a smart man. My main lesson? While I love my tech so, so much, I need to unplug sometimes. If I don’t, events will happen that will MAKE me unplug. It’s better to do it on your own rather than having the toilet do it for you.