As The World Turns.

I saw an adorable couple announce their pregnancy on social media the other day. The camera was perfectly perched to provide the best view for us as the wife surprised her husband with the news. It was super sweet to watch and I know they’ll forever cherish having that moment documented. I certainly would!

But...

it got me thinking back to my pregnancies and the moments leading up to telling my husband. This was pre-smartphone, before we had video/cameras in our hands at all times. Had we had them, I’m sure I would have documented it. But you know, I’m glad we didn’t. 

I have those two moments, realizing I was pregnant with each of our sons, etched into my mind and heart. Every detail - every thought and feeling, it’s all still there. Sliding slowly down the wall in my bathroom in complete shock - quietly taking a moment for myself to let everything sink in and to thank God, and then jumping on the bed to wake up my husband.  And then a few years later impulsively grabbing a test on our way home from a Friday night dinner out and just minutes later telling my baby boy he was about to be a big brother. I could go on and on. Every detail. Still there. I can play them like a movie in my mind. 

And there’s something so precious to me that those moments are ours. Mine and my husbands. Not shared with or seen by anyone else but each other. Private. Sacred. 

This newfound world of documenting life so easily is certainly amazing and I'm so grateful for it. I wouldn’t trade being able to capture so much of my boys childhood for anything. But I also wouldn’t trade the days before it. When we lived life in the truest form - without even a thought of documenting it for ourselves, much less anyone else. 

I think those of us who are on both sides of the spectrum of smartphones - having experienced life before them and after, are the ones who struggle with them the most. Or maybe it's just me; I don't know. But if you're old like me, we know and remember the simplicity of being without them, and we know the fun and good of it as well. I mean seriously - I certainly don't miss the days of printing out 28 pages of Map Quest before going to a new city! But man, exploring that city with nothing but my eyes to take it all in and my mind to remember it all sure was easy. 

The older I get, the more I understand those who came before me - romanticizing their days of youth. You  miss the simplicity of how things used to be and know that you're never returning to that way of life. As the world spins, technology advances, and everything changes. You can change or control how things are for yourself and for your family, but you can't change the world and the ripple effects these little devices have on society.

I often wonder if anyone else feels this way, but I think that life before cell phones felt more real. Less blurry. More free. More like … living.