The Greatest Invention of Our Time?

How I feel about cell phones depends on how good the signal is, when it rings and whose calling. A lot of times I think we were better off before the days of instant communication. There is something to be said for periods of time that you know you will not be interrupted by the ring tones from a cell phone. I know - you can always put your phone on silent or turn it off if you don't want to be interrupted, but you can't require other people to do the same just because you want them to. Plus I'm sure there's been times that they have been perturbed when my phone has rung.

When both kids leave home for school though I begin to think that the cell phone is one of man's greatest inventions. When I was in school I had a phone in my dorm room. I would call home weekly - always watching the time of night to call for the best rate and also keeping calls short. When my parents called me, they may or may not get an answer depending on if anyone was in the room. And this was before the day of answer machines and caller ID. Now we don't have to worry about the when, where or how long. If there's no answer we have the missed call list or voice mail. My main worry is the "too much." Not on their part - they never call too much - but on mine. I'd love touching base with my kids every day, but know that isn't going to happen. They get busy and just don't think about calling their old mom at home. But the times they do call - even if for just a quick "hi" - are some of the best parts of my day.