It takes me awhile....but when I get it, I GET IT.....

..and then I fix it!



I finally disconnected our home phone.....

Let me explain.....

Our home phone number has been our connection to each other and to the world since we moved into our little duplex on Wenzell Avenue. I'll never forget the day we got that number. It was the very first thing Carmen and I had together that announced to the world our couplehood--our very own phone number. It's been the number dialed when someone wanted to share good news, bad news, gossip, information or just to chat. It's astounding to me, as I think back--how many words, how many tears and how much laughter crisscrossed those lines. The hellos, the goodbyes, the I love you's, the I'm sorrys and all the words in between....the many things we say to those we love, those we talk to and even to those strangers who call us. Oh, the stories I could tell (I know...you don't doubt that!).

For so many years, our phone number was the only way to reach us---unless you wanted to knock on our door. But, as technology railroaded it's way ino our lives, we jumped on the train. Cell phones. Beepers. Laptops. Blackberrys. Yes, we've got them all. In fact, Carmen is a walking techno geek these days with a belt filled with a beeper, a phone and a Blackberry. (yes, I know...it's not a good fashion look...) It's gotten to the the point that we're so wired to the universe that it's a wonder why there are times we are unreachable. But...it happens.

Each and everyday, the 4 of us are out there doing what we do in our own little corners of the world--carrying at least one cell phone, one of us is carrying a beeper as well, a few of us are hog tied to our computers most of the day and our $80 a month home phone is home ringing. And, there's no one there to answer. Sometimes those calls are important. But, lately--not so much. Sure, we've had celebrities calling us quite a bit---during the presidential campaign. And, we've had more than our share of robocalls on our voicemail from regular campaigners. But, mostly, the phone just rings and we're not home. We're spending $80 a month for for our phone to ring with no one to hear it. And, when it is someone on the other end of the line who wants to talk to us--they leave a message. So, in addition, we're spending $80 a month to get a message from someone we have to call back!

It's taken me quite a bit of time to finally acknowledge that it was completely absurd to have 6 phone numbers among us (not counting our office phones). Even when Toni and her then-boyfriend ran up an astronomical bill last year from a grotesque amount of texting and I was forced to upgrade my service to the tune of $80 a month, I didn't budge. I couldn't bear the thought of giving up our home phone. But, each month afterwards, as I paid those bills, I'd raise my fist in the air and declare--"I'm getting rid of our landline!" Thinking back...I couldn't utter the words "home phone". Somehow the word "home" made it feel too important. Yes, I was being completely ridiculous and sappy and wasteful. It was all based on emotions! But, that's how it was. Giving up that phone meant more than the $80 I spent each month. So, what changed my mind? 15,985 kb's. I didn't know what 15,985 kb's was but what I did know is that it cost $544.82. All of a sudden....my emotional attachment to phones and communications in general became a thing of the past. I was ready to shut off every phone, every method of communication and every piece of communicative equipment my family owned and revert us all back to the dark ages where we would play cards to pass the time, let visitors come to the door to carry messages and send letters through the mail if we wanted to say something to someone who lives in the next town.

Yeah, well....I'm someone who doesn't stay angry long. And, I hate playing cards. Plus, I'm impatient with anger...it upsets things and makes me feel lousy and screws with my make up. Instead, I just take care of the problem. So, that's what I did. Once I learned that the reason why my bill was what it was (Vince's new phone had internet service so he was using it heavily!) and figured out what I needed to do to make sure it didn't happen again--I did it. What that meant was that I had to add on another $60 a month in fees to upgrade to an unlimited internet plan. THAT'S WHEN I decided the HOME PHONE had to go. It was no longer reasonable to hang on to something that cost $80 a month just because it had sentimental value. Yes, I suppose that means that my affections have a price tag on them. So be it. I will accept that evaluation.

There comes a time when we just have to stop allowing our hearts to rule our heads.

That's exactly why I quit dieting and got a Lapband (and why I disconnected my home phone)......