Connections

With the arrival of the smartphone and social media apps, my life veered off-track a little before realization dawned of what really mattered most. These thoughts are from 2016 and still hold true!

There is an untold bliss and feeling of calm as you run your fingers through the soft, silky hair of your sleeping child. A sense of peace as you touch a smooth cheek and feel a tiny whiff of breath.

This was very often my morning routine, a few minutes of quiet, sometimes even savoring a cup of coffee as I sat beside my sleeping little boy.  The calm before the storm – before I got into my task-master mode that made sure he was out of bed on time, dressed and fed, and off to school with his back-pack and lunch-bag in tow! 🙂

That was so 2014! So outdated with the arrival of WhatsApp in my life. It felt great to be connected to the Irvine friends group, the Baroda family group, my-favorite-teens-group, and the college group ….the list of groups just kept growing. So many photos, thought-provoking lines, slapstick jokes at my very fingertips. With a coffee cup in one hand and smartphone in the other, I was having conversations without really talking to anyone.  I was in touch with a whole lot of folks without even shaking someone’s hand or making eye contact. My hands and my thoughts were captive to the phone.

The silky hair turned a little rough. The soft, rounded cheeks became lean. I forgot to give those growing feet a quick morning massage. But when the clock chimed 7, I still remained the task-master since tardy at school was never an option.

And then one day, a small reprimand – “Mom limits our screen time but she is on her phone even in the morning!” And then another day, an eye-opener – “you know I am awake but just don’t get up because you are on your phone.”  

That did it, I couldn’t connect to the world and disconnect my little angel. No more bed-side WhatsApp for me! 

-AK Irvinekar