But with the tethered nature of western digital culture, sometimes it can be a little hard to tell.
I work freelance and despite having told all of my clients that I was going to be on vacation this week, some of them have continued to have urgent loose ends needing to be tied up. So, I've still been keeping an eye on my e-mail. And I've still been doing some work in the early mornings. (I'm spending most of my holiday hanging out with some of my YEFMs – young extended family members – and fortunately, they are late risers, leaving me time for work – and blogging.)
Truth is, I find it a little hard to let go of work. I know this is one of my challenges in life. Focusing on work is seductive because it is (almost always) safe territory for me. I enjoy it. I'm good at it. And it is the source of money and often, approval and appreciation.
These are not bad things. I feel very lucky that I have work that suits me so well. But it's important to be able to let go. And sometimes I struggle with that.
The gift of broken technology
Yesterday, I was given a gift. After one of my YEFMs and I set off for an outing, my iPhone broke. The screen turned to a bunch of horizontal lines and was unresponsive. I couldn't try a soft reset because the power button has been broken for months. Basically, its built-in obsolescence just kicked in with a vengeance.It was awesome.
Instead of panicking and heading for the nearest wireless solutions store, my YEFM and I continued with our planned itinerary. First we went to the magic phone box at Luckett Vineyards to call my YEFM's mom. After a brief chat in which I asked her to spread the news to other family members that my phone was out of commission, my YEFM and I sat on the patio at Luckett's and drank lemonade and ate cake, soaking in the gorgeous view of the Gaspereau Valley on a breezy, fresh, sunny afternoon. We commented on how very lucky we felt to be enjoying such a luxurious treat.
Here, with brilliant serendipity, we ran into a friend of mine and I asked him if he could please send a message to a mutual friend of ours with whom I had arranged a beach play date for her youngster and my YEFM later that same day. I asked my chance-met friend to let her know that my phone was broken, but that we would be there! Who needs a smart phone? (Though I guess if my friends hadn't had theirs, that would have thrown a spanner in the works...)
Off to Blue Beach Fossil Museum to look at fossils and then whiz bang over to Kingsport Beach for our play date and supper at the Tides In canteen. We went for a long walk on the red muddy beach and saw more hermit crabs than I've ever seen at one time – dozens and dozens of them. Plus a live green crab and lots of little shrimpy-looking things.
My friend and I talked about feminism and work and life plans while the youngsters ran and splashed and smeared mud on themselves and one other. We all got into the excitement of spotting hermit crabs, picking them up and watching them curl themselves tight inside their shells with just the tips of their little, pink claws showing.
WE ALL GOT VERY MUDDY!
The kind young women working at the canteen gave us a couple of tubs of water to wash the worst of it off with. And then we all had ice cream. And said our farewells with hugs and smiles.
My YEFM and I had a scenic drive home as the sun was setting – particularly scenic because I wasn't 100% sure of my way back to our family's cottage from Kingsport and we ended up taking an inadvertent detour around Baxter's Harbour and Hall's Harbour. With sunset views of the Bay of Fundy, it was almost indecently pretty. Score another point for not having access to Google Maps, which would have pointed me to a shorter, more pragmatic and less picturesque route.
At the end of our drive, hot chocolate and a few hands of Snap! completed a very full day of which I have absolutely NO photographic evidence, but plenty of vivid memories.
Zero Consequences
And guess what? No clients were freaking out because they couldn't reach me. Family members were informed and relaxed. And I already had an auto-reply message set up to answer any incoming email.
I'll replace my phone later today. Realistically, I'm not prepared to live without one – but I'm tempted to "forget" it at home more often and have more fabulous, fully-present days like yesterday.
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