I’m a single parent. In the Times of Covid, I can’t divorce my phone.
I’ve been living my “solo parent” life since April 2019, when my husband died of cancer. The following year when I was starting to see spots of light my grief-stricken fog, the world shut down in a pandemic.
My smartphone is my lifeline to the outside world.
I have social media, to share photos with family and friends.
I use it to buy groceries. Trunk pickup, yes please!
I use it to NOT be in Walmart walking around more than I have to. Or spend more money walking around Target than I need to.
I use it to check the weather.
I use it to call family. To call friends. To text in order to keep my sanity alive and my anxieties at bay.
The only thing I really don’t use it for is watching TV.
When my husband was here he would chastise me for being addicted to a phone game. “Addict,” he would joke, and that would usually break my reverie of whatever I was doing. I’d move closer to him on the couch and more actively watch whatever was on. Now I hear him in my head, but it’s not the same.
And in the Covid Times, I’ve come to terms that I need my phone. I started writing this on mine. You are probably reading this article on yours.
I wholeheartedly agree it’s a drug society has accepted as a “necessary evil.” Have you ever been somewhere and realized you don’t have your phone on you? You suddenly feel exposed and vulnerable. I always bring mine when I drive the 2 miles to get my kids from school in case I’m in an accident. It’s 2 miles!
Try not using your phone for an hour. Then try not using it for half a day. Then a full day. What about a week?
When you live with a partner it’s easier to disconnect. I had my husband with me, and my kids, there was no one else I really needed to talk to. Now, when I’m home on the weekends with my kids, I need to talk to some damn adults. I need that link. I need to be able to call my sister, listening to her wrangle her kids while on the phone, and have her listen to me wrangle my kids while on the phone, all in motherhood solidarity. I need to tap out a play a mindless game while I watch a ridiculous children’s movie for the who-knows-time. I need validation that I’m doing a good job. And in this time of isolation from the world, my phone gives me that access to message.
As long as I never lose my charging cord, I’ll be alright.
