Still Connected

Well, after finally making the decision to cancel my old 402 phone number, it feels like the Universe is still messing with me.  In last week's Disconnected post, I told you about having to wait after making this decision because Sprint's website was experiencing difficulties.  I tried logging in the next day and got the same message.  So, a few days later I started an online chat with a Sprint rep and was given an 800# to call to cancel the line.  By this time I was getting irritated, which pushed aside any hesitation I had about letting go of this part of my past.  But, when the representative informed me that I'd have to pay $200 to get out of my contract for this phone, a contract that I wasn't supposed to have any more since I'd switched to a Framily Plan, I wasn't amused.  I'm sure this little bit of information is somewhere in the fine print of my new Framily Plan, but it certainly felt like I'd been caught in a Catch 22.  

I know this really isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things.  I just find funny that after all of my vacillating about whether or not to disconnect this number, and finally deciding to let it go, the answer I received was, "Not now."  So, the real opportunity to let go in this situation for me is to let go of my desire to make it happen now and accept, once again, that "It is what it is."  There may be another phone call to Sprint to confirm the information and remind them what "valued" customer I have been for the last decade, but the real work of letting go of my attachment to this phone number has been done.  The process and the emotions it brought up have just been so interesting to me, because it is, after all, just a phone number.  However, it has been a good reminder that there are many side streets on this road to Radical Simplicity, and even something as seemingly insignificant as a phone number can lead me closer to the truth about what is and is not important to me today.

Disconnected?

As of today, I've been in Santa Fe for 2 months.  I'm not sure how time can seem to fly and crawl at the same time, but it feels like I just got here and like home all at once.  I'm settled in my new home and have been exploring in and around Santa Fe and making new friends.  Tonight I decided to write about my decision to let go something I thought I needed to keep.  It's not taking up much space, only about 2x4 inches in a drawer, but the $55 a month it's costing me could be spent on other things, like exploring more of New Mexico.

I didn't realize what a security blanket it had become though until I started thinking about letting go of it.  It's been a part of my life for more than 30 years and a tangible link to my old life in Omaha.  I kept it because I didn't want any of my clients to ever get an "this number has been disconnected" message when they dialed 402-551-8967.  That's the phone number my family got when we first moved to Omaha in 1980.  

I ended up with it when, as a young single-mom I moved into a new home with my parents.  They still had the number and when we set up a new account with Cox at the new place the account was put in my name.  This was still the 90s and I'm not sure I even had a cell phone yet.  But, at some point we got a separate line for my parents and this phone number stayed in my name.  

Six or seven years ago, when I got rid of my LAN line, I was able to transfer this number to my cell phone and maintain this small bit of continuity amidst all the changes that were happening in my life at that time.  Maybe that's why I've hesitated (am still hesitating as I type this) to pull the plug on this part of my past.  In fact I feel really emotional about it at the moment.  I understand that it's really more of a symbolic gesture and just another layer in this process of radically simplifying my life.

So, here goes.  I'm logging on to Sprint's website now... and once again I see that the Universe likes to play games with me because when I tried to log in to cancel this phone line I got this message:

So, I guess that means it's time for me to go to sleep and this is something I can take care of tomorrow.

To be continued...