Really Smart Phone. Really Dumb Daddy.

Yes. I’m addicted to my smartphone.

From sunup to sundown, that glowing 1334 x 750 screen is my source of information, humor and companionship.

Is this a problem? Of course. How can I fix it? I’m still working on it.

Deleting Apps Should Work, But…

In the past, I’ve deleted the apps I checked most often (sorry I haven’t sent you a Facebook Happy Birthday message) in an effort to break my reliance on my good pal.

It works for awhile, but soon I find that time spent checking my CLE|Sports twitter list has simply been replaced by the latest neighborhood dispute over political signs on the Nextdoor app. It’s just too juicy not to check in on every 8 minutes.

Additionally, my #1 time waster is my email account, which I can’t just delete. After all, I might have a new message that needs to be handled immediately that wasn’t there when I checked it 3 minutes ago!

And Now For the Really Dumb Daddy Part

The most embarrassing part of this addiction to technology is that I have let it rob me of precious moments with my kids. To prove this, let me share a quick story.

A few weeks back, I was in a more present state of mind and had vowed to put the phone down and take in life going on around me. Throughout the day, I had noticed quite a few things I typically had missed. Nothing spectacular, but it was at least on par with the rewards of checking Instagram.

Then, it was bedtime for Lo.

We read books at a much slower pace—which was a nice change—and then went upstairs to brush her teeth. She likes to brush by herself before daddy does touch-up cleaning. It can feel like it takes forever some nights, and yes, I admit that I’ll pull out my smartphone to fill those 22 seconds. How embarrassing, right? I feel like I should be forced to resign from my position as daddy due to the severity of this offense. Fortunately, tonight was different.

As she sat there brushing her teeth, I was focused on maintaining eye contact with her. She had been telling great jokes about a chicken and a road downstairs and they continued in the bathroom. The more our eyes connected, the funnier the jokes became. Soon, we were both grinning from ear to ear.

Then, I broke my promise to myself.

Seeing her smile, I just had to have that memory locked up safely. It was the best smile I had ever received from her and though it would forever be etched in my heart, I wanted a picture to remind me of the moment when I get old and can no longer remember.

Ultimately, I’m glad I broke my promise.

This moment helped me put my smartphone in its proper place. It’s there to help me capture and relive the moments of my life, but I never want to miss one of these moments because my phone got in the way.

Life is too short to let a smart phone create a dumb daddy.

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