"No Phone, Be There More."

This is my new... Well... You can say it's a motto or whatever. It's just something that I’m trying to tell/remind myself. Especially when I’m together with my loved ones, like families & friends who really matter to me. Why? Because lately I just don’t get it. You say you want to spend time with your families, your friends, or whoever it is, yet you’re busy with your cell phone. I’m not saying that I’m throwing my iPhone away or totally keeping it inside my bag like 100% whenever I'm spending time with someone. Because for those who know me well, I really like to take pictures. First of all I’m a photo hoarder & photos help me to remind things (another way to cheat :D). Especially moments that are to me personally are too precious to forget. BUT playing games or talking or chatting on the cell phone while you are actually WITH someone? I think it’s totally rude. Sadly it’s becoming a common sight though… Where everybody is busy with his/her phone instead of having a real conversation with the person next to him/her. A family gathering for example looks more like people being in a same room but don’t really care about each other's presence. 

A couple of days ago my aunty came to our house with her daughter & son in-law. I didn’t invite her. She was just passing by. I was surprised, in a good way of course. I was delighted that she made some time to visit me. But it didn’t take long for me to be disappointed or should I say…confused? Why? Well… Because almost the entire time she was here, my aunty was busy talking on her 2 cell phones on both ears. Yes. I say it again: 2 cell phones, 2 ears. Obviously she wasn’t talking to me, her niece who was sitting right in front of her. I did however had conversation with my cousin & her husband. But there were definitely lots of awkward moments. Such as silence or they were busy with themselves instead of talking to me. The person who they visited. I didn’t know what to do. So I started to walk around the house, playing with Moochi & I even went to my bedroom, closed the door & sat on my bed for awhile. When they said goodbye, I was actually relieved. 

Yes. I’m very much aware that my aunty or at least my cousin would read this posting. But I’m not worried. Am I sorry? No, I’m not sorry for writing this. Why should I? I'm not doing anything wrong. This is my way to tell everybody who wants to visit, meet or spend time with me that: if you DO want to meet me, then BE here with me. Spend time with me like... Oh I don't know! Just talk to me, tell me what’s going on in your life lately, where are you going to, what’s happening, what’s the latest movie you’ve watched, what are your plans, who is your latest crush, ANYTHING!!! JUST. TALK. Don’t come here or tell me that you want to see me but then your eyes are more fixated on your cell phone. Because if you do that, you’re wasting my time. 

Yesterday on Idul Adha day Hubster, Kukka & I went to Bogor to visit Mom & Dad. And alhamdulillah my big sister & her family were also there. It was such a great time. We had some coffee. We talked about the kids: Namira, Alyna & Kukka, who were also there & shared their stories. We had meals together. We talked about the past. We laughed, hugged & kissed. There was a moment when it made my eyes all teary. When we were all set to go home, I hugged & kissed my mom. Then she said “Sering-sering atuh ngumpul kaya gini… Kan seneng ngobrol, cerita-cerita. Mani rindu…” (More or less: “We should spend more time together like this. It’s fun to share stories. I miss it very much.”). I still shed some tears when our car was already far away from Mom’s house… Heck I'm crying right now as I'm typing this!!!

Anyways later on I tried really hard to remember everything & wrote the things that happened in my diary. It was really hard but I took it as a brain exercise. I must say I did pretty good :) Minutes later when I was reading my writing (I always do this because many times I write the same stuff over & over again.), something just hit me & I had to write it down: “No phone, be there more.” And I was like... Okay I have to blog about this & share it. Maybe it'll do something good. Maybe by reading this piece, you'd realize that you actually spend more time with your cell phone rather than with your kids, parents, other family members or friends in real life. Then that sad day will come, when you can't be with your loved ones anymore. Together. Ever again.

And then you'd finally fully aware that you certainly can't turn back the time.