Undivided Attention, Please!

I had an epiphany recently and I'm not sure why I didn't connect all of the dots sooner, but better late than never, huh?? Anyway, it's about giving people your undivided attention and why I am so sensitive about this topic.....

In the last few years as cell phones have gotten way more complicated and addicting (due to the iPhone, texting, internet on the phones, etc.), I have developed a pet peeve that is very intense.....I HATE it when I go out to eat or sit in a meeting with someone (or a group of people) and everyone whips out their phones and puts them on the table so that they can see every single text, email, IM or call that is coming in..........and respond to it.

I know that sometimes it's necessary to be 'accessible' and that's a good thing - technology really has made our lives easier and more mobile. That's a fantastic thing and I will admit, I don't leave the house without my cell phone......However...........when I go out to eat with someone and we are having a conversation (complete with eye contact) and then they get a text and the whole conversation derails because they just can't NOT answer it, I just find that WILDLY inappropriate and rude. I know this seems to bother me more than it does other people and recently I think I figured out why.

My Dad was a work-a-holic. I don't mean to throw him under the bus or anything, but it's just a fact. He was a great provider for our family, but he was also obsessed with his job and work. I remember one time I had a piano recital and he brought his briefcase. He had work out before the recital and it really hurt my feelings that he couldn't even take an hour and a half out of his Saturday to devote to something special to me.

During my childhood, I felt like I had to get in his face to really get attention from him. I always knew he loved me and cared about me, but I was just starved for his UNDIVIDED attention. Ya know, the kind of attention where someone looks in your eyes and is "plugged in" - they are truly listening to you and caring about what you have to say. I didn't get much of that from my Dad and I always wanted it.

I hear people talking about 'love languages' (based off of a Christian book) and since I haven't read the book, I am not sure exactly what my love language is, but I'm pretty sure that if I evaluate myself, I will find that mine is eye-to-eye, plugged-in listening/attention. Money, gifts, fancy vacations are nice, but I really crave one-on-one interaction where somebody pays attention and makes me the most important conversation in that moment - they hear me, understand me and care about what I have to say. That is priceless to me.

When I get to Heaven, I'll have to tell Dad he owes me for therapy....HAHAHA!