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If You’re On Your Phone, I Don’t Want to Have Dinner With You
Life is too short to play second best
I never thought I’d be one of those people.
I’m only 34 years old, for god’s sake.
But here I am saying things like “back in my day people didn’t bring their phones out around the dinner table” as if it were decades ago.
Yet I’m talking only a matter of years.
My despair was triggered by a friend who I was having dinner with recently (although it was more like having dinner in the company of my friend.)
We could well have been at different tables. I probably would have had a better time.
As the night progressed, he insisted on saying sorry as if he couldn’t stop but then he continued on without even looking up.
In the beginning, I was annoyed. I’d specifically carved out time to be with him and was looking forward to catching up. But after about 40 minutes, I just wanted to eat my food and get home.
What a waste of time, I thought.
After we’d parted, I reflected on why I didn’t ask my friend to just put his phone down. It’s a pattern I’m familiar with. People pleasing and not wanting to create conflict is what I’m good at. However, the downside is…
