Ah, back to school! The grass is still green, the birds are still singing, and you can practically smell the pencil shavings in the air! If you’ve hit rock bottom on your summer, with the family vacation long past and the kids having gone beyond the ‘I’m boreds’ to outright stupor, you know it’s time to send them back to school.
And so, it’s time to pass the torch of boredom from our children to ourselves. Although there is plenty to do when the kids are in school, you can’t deny that there is a lot of driving back and forth, in between, here and there. Through it all you need a friend to rely on, a helping hand to keep you distracted and give you a connection to the outside world. No, I’m not talking about a real-human-mouth-breathing friend, I’m talking about your smart phone.
For a mom, a smart phone is a vital piece of technology. It allows you to keep in touch with your husband during your daily travels. You can check your email, text your mom, or even take a picture of whatever it was that little Johnny just brushed up against that is causing the huge rash on his back. Our phones let us take photos instantly, without wondering where the camera is, and even let us zone out and ignore the school moms who are gossiping about the other school moms. Did you know that 13% of people recently surveyed by Pew Research Center in Washington, DC said that they use their phones to avoid having social interactions? And why not? Especially in terms of school yard gossiping, you know its’ not going to be long before they turn it around and talk about you.
Best of all, a smart phone combats boredom. Before my smart phone (and my iPad) I used to sit in a cold car like sucker, waiting for my kid to come out of whatever activity he/she was in because the location didn’t have a waiting room and I had no desire to stand outside freezing even more. I’d lament my lack of paper book, and search through the flyers on my floor just for something to read. Or, if I had enough time, I’d sleep. You have to do something, right? Wouldn’t you rather be perusing the Ikea catalog via their app or playing Angry birds?
This year, when buying back to school supplies, send your husband to Staples or Walmart with the kids and get thee to a Smart phone vendor of your choosing. If you already have one, why not take the time to treat yourself and upgrade to a new version? You can thank me later.
Or, come back and let me know how it’s changed your life in the comments below.
