Present

That’s what I want for Christmas.

I want to “be present.”

On my way back from dropping the kids at school last Thursday I was thinking about our morning. What was it that Sam said about a concert? Who was is that called Lily a bad name on the playground?

I couldn’t remember.

Truth is, I wasn’t paying attention.

On the way from Monroe to Ballantyne, at every stoplight, I was checking my phone.

Did the buyer sign the contract yet?

Has the meeting been confirmed?

Are we closing on Friday?

When we got to Amelie’s I took their picture outside like I do every week. And then I got obsessed with taking the perfect picture of the french press my coffee was served in so I could post it on Instagram.

While my kids chatted over croissants and fruit tarts, I filtered and cropped.

I often do the same thing at home. I’ll sit in the recliner with my laptop. Julia will sit on the couch and tell me about her day or about something she needs me to take care of.

“Yes dear.”

Maybe I was working, maybe I was goofing off. But, either way, the next day I don’t remember.

Same with my friends. We’re hanging out drinking a few beers and everyone is talking, and all the while I’m checking my text messages.

Like many people, I often talk about how fast life goes by.

“Can you believe it’s already Christmas again?”

“Dang, it seems like this year just flew by. Wasn’t it January just yesterday?”

I want to slow it all down.

Impossible, right?

I’m not so sure. I wonder if eliminating distractions from my life would allow me to be more present in whatever I’m doing, thereby giving me the sense that time is passing more slowly.

Certainly the biggest distraction in my life is my phone.

So, as an experiment, last week I deleted most of the apps.

Facebook - gone.

Instagram - gone.

Messenger - gone.

Twitter - gone.

Even Gmail is gone. (I know, sacrilege for a Realtor to not have 24/7 email alerts, right?)

Basically I can call or text people and check the weather from my phone. I’ve reduced this $1,200 marvel of modern technology to little more than the flip phone I had in college.

So far, so good. Nothing bad has happened. Nobody yelled at me for not immediately responding to their email.

I did laugh at myself a bunch the first couple of days as I would instinctively pull out my phone at stop lights to see if I had any new mail.

December, in particular, always seems to fly by. It will be interesting to see if the rest of this month feels any slower than the last few.

I’ll let you know.