Mar
12
2024
The Long Cord
Posted in Daily Living 6 Comments
I do something which my husband does not understand.
I can tell that it bothers him.
Even my oldest daughter finds it strange.
I do not wrap the vacuum cord around the handle like it is designed to do.
I vacuum often and find it annoying to have to stop and unravel the long cord.
When I am finished vacuuming, I simply take the cord and make large loops with my hand.
I hang the lightly looped cord over the handle.
The next time I have to vacuum, the cord is easily plugged into the wall.
I like things neat and in their place, but apparently, that doesn’t apply to my vacuum.
If my husband uses the vacuum for his truck, he neatly wraps the cord on the handle.
If my daughter runs the vacuum for me, after a family gathering, she coils it neatly as well.
I don’t say anything, nor do I undo what they have done.
You can be sure the large, loose coils are back on the handle the next time I vacuum.
I guess everyone has their own pet peeve.
Not everyone agrees with the way something is done.
The way I put the vacuum in the closet would qualify as a pet peeve for some.
In the scheme of things, it really doesn’t matter.
I am the one who vacuums the most.
I’m simply making it easier for myself.
I put the vacuum away with me in mind.
The long vacuum cord made me thing of the long wall phone cord that was in the kitchen.
I remember when that wall phone was new.
The cord was pristine and hung all the way down to the floor.
In no time; however, the long cord was tangled, and wrapped around itself.
If you wanted to move around the room a bit, the tangled cord pulled you back.
It was next to impossible to keep the phone cord from getting tangled.
What used to touch the floor was now coiled in such a way that it appeared to be shorter.
You were tethered to the wall because the cord simply didn’t stretch the way it once did.
Unlike the vacuum cord, the tangled phone cord was no one’s fault.
It simply happened over time.
The original cordless phones, remedied the situation.
No tangles, and the ability to walk around as you talked on the phone, made life easier.
Or did it?
There was something wonderful about a wall phone.
When a call came through, someone answered and had to call the person to the phone.
There was no solitude, since everyone knew who was calling and for whom the call came.
There was accountability with wall phones, since your time was limited.
Other people needed to use the phone.
Other people in the house could hear parts of your conversation.
If you were lucky, you could open the basement door and sit on the steps to talk.
No one had phones in their rooms.
Who called whom was known in a family.
Privacy was found by being able to go to another room as long as the cord reached.
Solitude was unheard of when the wall phone was in the kitchen.
Landlines are rarer and rarer these days.
We have our own phones, with our own apps, our own photos, and our own contacts.
We can text instead of writing a letter.
We can record a voice memo instead of actually calling the person.
I thought of this while at a conference this past weekend.
Old friends and new friends enjoyed food, fellowship, and wonderful speakers.
When sharing contact information, one lovely young woman asked if I wrote letters.
What a wonderful question, which made me think and caused me to reminisce.
The lost art of letter writing.
The lost method of phone calling.
The lost ability to talk face to face.
The lost stillness.
Personal phones in our hands may give us the world at our fingertips, but at what cost?
What have we lost in this information age?
Limited time with a tethered cord was not all that bad.
Wall phones never consumed us; they never incessantly dinged to be heeded.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28,29)
Rest is found in Jesus.
I want to be tethered to Him.
I want to be yoked to Him as He leads me and teaches me.
I want old fashioned rest for my soul.
Love this & yes, it brought back sweet memories of parents monitoring who was calling & how long you were talking to them on the kitchen phone. New technology has its advantages, but we do give up something for the convenience. Also well remember unplugging the phone cord and letting it hang to detangle. Thanks for this great message.
Charmaine,
I am so glad this brought back so many wonderful memories for you. There was an innocence to that time that is not quite the same now. Technology has its advantages, but we have all given up something, too.
Gina
Good morning Gina,
Frank and I shared a good laugh over your way of looping the vacuum cord. He does the same thing and I have learned not to let it bother me. After all, he is the one who does the vacuuming.
A fair trade off I would say! Thanks for the sharing.
Nancy,
Frank and I are very similar. I’m glad you don’t let it bother you. Actually, it is efficient and less time consuming. I’m glad this made you both laugh.
Gina
Love this, so true. Sweet memories of a boy calling me back in the day and my Dad insisting that he “wasn’t listening” to my conversation.
Sherie,
I think we all have our own wall phone memories. Even though we may not have liked it at the time, there was an innocence about it that cannot be duplicated with cell phones.
Gina