R.I.P. Cell Phone

Dear Boys,

This week marks the end of an era.

My cell phone died this week. (Snapped in half after being dropped is more accurate.)

Don't be sad and lose heart.

Instead, we celebrate the life of said phone, which was perhaps the most persistent, never-say-die phone I've ever had.

Yes, this phone had more lives than a cat.

First of all, it survived multiple "drops". And by "drops", I mean not only the times I accidentally dropped it, but the times you snatched it from me and then threw it (hard) on the floor while I chased after you.

Fortunately, this particular phone did not have to endure a trip down the interstate on the trunk deck of my car.

The phone was an LG enV2, which flips open like a book to expose the keypad. Eventually, the drops resulted in the phone beginning to pull apart at the hinge.

Believing that most everything can be fixed with tape or superglue (Mom-E loves to poke fun at me about this), I opted to fix the hinge with black electrical tape.

This, of course, was a temporary fix, meaning that about once a week I'd have to "retape" my phone.

But hey, if it still works and saves you $50 on a replacement...

Anyway, last but not least, I'll admit that the phone survived two deep-sea-diving escapades in the toilet. One of them in standing water, and one in flushing water. Both with baths in Lysol.

And the phone lived to keep making calls. Seriously. I tried both the "dry it out with a hairdryer" and the "put it in a jar of rice" methods.

Both worked! Score!

But alas, the day before a scheduled retaping, I dropped the phone again. This time it ended up in two non-super-glueable pieces.

This meant a trip to the Verizon store. And you already know how much we love the Verizon store.

This time, however, I was too tired to care I embraced the challenge and leak in my wallet that I knew was coming.

And when we were the 12th (yes twelfth) person in line, 45 minute before your bedtime, I said "BRING IT ON."

Oh, and you boys did bring it.

You wore grooves in the floor running around.

You surfed the web and played apps on an iPad.

And Bab-E Brother did headfirst slides through display stands like he was in training for an obstacle course race.

And the noise. Oh the noise, noise, noise, noise.

(I thought for sure they'd bump us up in line to get us out more quickly, but they didn’t)

And to the other people in the store, I hope you enjoyed the show.

I did. I had fun. It’s who we are. You gotta be comfy in your own skin.

I enjoyed spending time with you. I loved your laughter and excitement. I loved all of the hugs I received while we were there.

And so boys, I want you to take the following things from our experience:
1) Persistence and constancy of purpose are the secrets to success, as evidenced by my phone.
2) You can fix ANYTHING, albeit temporarily, with glue and/or tape.
3) The fun is in enjoying each others’ company during the mundane errands and tasks of life.
4) When I’m a grandfather, I’m coming with you and your children to the phone store. I’m going to sit down, not help at all, and just watch the show and laugh. ☺

And in case you were wondering, Mom-E has forbade me to bring my new phone in the bathroom.

See you on Fatherhood Friday,
Love you, boys,
Busy-Dad-E