M. Suzanne Terry

I am not what anyone would describe as an early adaptor. It’s not a point of pride for me. I see the benefit in upgrading to the newest model of a device whenever one can. It’s cool if you do that. I just am not that person.

Having said that, I am having a bit of a honeymoon with my new phone. I’ve named her Mona. She is sleek and sexy and looks super hot in her stripey Kate Spade cover.

Mona is an iPhone X (yes I know it’s not the newest but it’s the one I wanted so let’s all move on). We met at the Verizon store after I told the sales guy I was there to upgrade my phone. He was utterly professional until he saw my old phone and realized just how old she was (like…they don’t even make the adaptor for it anymore). Then he made a face. He pulled it together quickly but I know in his head he was still sniffing derisively at Margeaux.

I forgive him. He probably had the very latest phone the moment it came out. He just doesn’t understand a long-term relationship like the ones I have with my devices. I get it. I didn’t used to get attached.

My first two cell phones were bare bones models. No frills. Just the calls (and the texts), ma’am.

Then I met Cherry O.

Cherry O was a red LG. Still not a smartphone but so, so much fancier than what I had before. The camera was better than the digital camera I had, so I was able to get rid of my camera, and I’ve never gone back. I assigned everyone their own custom ringtone. Cherry O and I had a great run. Then one day she died. Just…out of the blue. No warning (well, no warning other than the myriad of pointed emails I got from Verizon telling me to hurry and upgrade already).

I was devastated, but Margeaux helped me through it.

Margeaux was my first smartphone. She, too, was an iPhone. Margeaux helped me get over Cherry O by introducing me to Instagram. I love Instagram. I follow some really delightful people there. Margeaux let me do that. I also joined Duolingo, which is a super easy way to practice my Spanish and German and gently ease in to French and Italian.

This week, though, Margeaux and I broke up. It was amicable. There are no hard feelings. It’s not her, it’s me (it was totally her).

Enter Mona.

If Mona were a person, she’d be CEO of her own company that she dreamed up and built from nothing. She would live in a Cape Cod style home with a huge backyard. She would grow her own vegetables, make jam, and have friends over for supper every Sunday night. She would know how to tango and provide her own tech support. She would do all of this and make it look easy.

I love all the storage I have on this phone. I love how much faster it is than my last phone. I love that it supports all four (five?) of my book apps. And I love it allows me to type this post out to you from the comfy chair in my living room without having to wrangle my laptop.

I am smitten. I think Mona and I will be together for quite some time.