Sherrill Pool Elizondo, Age 77
Every morning, when I sit down with my cup of coffee, I check my phone and delete unwanted emails, read and respond to text messages, listen to any voicemails, look at the weather, and read the news. Then I vow to declutter my phone. I find this almost as difficult as purging a closet of clothes, purses, and shoes that should be given to charity or when one moves to downsize a home and cleans out a house and garage of many accumulated items. Going through belongings to be donated to charity, given to family, or thrown out was a daunting task for me three years ago when we moved from our home of 42 years. Many decisions and time consuming work, as well as experiencing bittersweet memories and feelings, go along with trimming down ones’ life and, in some ways or at least for me, a feeling of loss. So, what could be the big deal about deleting text messages, emails (rather than filing some like I do), certain voicemails, and contacts? For people like me, that can be overwhelming as sometimes we can be overly sentimental, a slight hoarder, or maybe even practical.
I’ve collected names and numbers of people who are not family or close friends for many years. Some, though, are organizations I belong to and others are magazine/writing contacts. Some are neighbors, friends I never see, acquaintances, and some…not sure why I keep them! I have a rather long list of doctors with their numbers which I find necessary. However, some of them I no longer see plus now I have names and numbers for medical people in two towns…you never know when one might need them. Why delete them even if I know I can easily find the number on the internet? I might forget their name is why, though I would love to forget many if not all of my doctors! I have contacts on my phone who have done work for us in two homes. Not all of those contacts would be that easy to find on the internet. I’ve looked at some contacts and wondered who in the heck is that person? Easy for me when I remember what I normally do; I always give a description of their profession or where I met them in their contact information. Lately I’ve had trouble concerning text messages. A few I find easy to delete. Most, however, are texts between family and close friends and read like a diary of events. I still have a great memory at my age, but I might forget what was said in text messages from a few months to a year ago! Some pictures remain but others have not…a guessing game until I read the text. Voicemails are a little easier to delete but some truly mark important moments in my life.
My obsession with saving so much on my phone does not end there. I have not been able to delete some names in my contact list even when the person has died or is no longer with me due to the passage of time and interest. I simply can’t bring myself to delete them. There have been a few friends who have passed away and I’ve been able to delete the information eventually, but mainly that has been the case of the death of some friend’s spouse or people who I have addresses and phone numbers under their spouse’s name. At this stage of life, I’ve acquired the phone numbers of a friend’s brother and a cousin’s son and daughter in law…that’s for when you don’t hear back from them and you want to be sure they are still in good health and nothing serious has happened! Deleting seems so permanent and, in the case of my college roommate who died in recent years, I doubt that I will ever delete her contact information. I know with certainty that she won’t be calling or texting me but, as another friend said, who knows?