The days of pagers (or beepers) seem so long ago, but sometimes, I think I could use one now. No matter where you go these days, someone is on their phone either talking, reading, or playing a game. These so-called phones are more of an information/entertainment device, and a phone is just another function.

Don’t get me wrong, I am techy and I love my gadgets. So much so, I sometimes just look online for gadgets. Hell, I can even control my lights and adjust the air conditioning in my house by giving commands to Alexa.

While I may be a bit extreme, I do miss the days where you heard a beeping sound, looked down, and saw a phone number and maybe a code at the end, and you didn’t have to respond immediately…unless it ended with 911. I may not have even known who the person was, because all I had was a number. I just simply knew that someone needed to talk to me.

Sometimes, we get wrapped up in our instant access to information and immediate responses that we don’t take into account the message we may be sending to our children. It may seem harmless to be talking with them or playing a game with them and have to stop every so often to respond or look up some information, and maybe it is harmless, but what I do know is that it has to be better for them to have your full attention and let everyone else wait.

That’s what we did with the pager. People had to wait until you got home, to the office, or even to a pay phone (remember those?). So, give it a try. Turn the phone off (or on silent) and leave it in the other room to spend some time with your children. Let everyone else wait.

Text me (LOL) and let me know how it was (225) 283-4888. That’s my real number, so let me know. ■