8 Comments
Apr 25Liked by Katherine Johnson Martinko

I recently removed the Substack app from my phone because even though I love reading, I don't want to read on my phone at all anymore. A few friends and I talked about this at the park yesterday. We all agreed the GPS is a must but did we really need much else? Now I read my Substack stories on my laptop from the comfort of my couch, and remember to bring a real book or two in my bag. Best of both worlds for me.

I took my son and my mom to see two aunts and a baby today. We were there for four hours and the only time a phone was pulled out, it was to see when the baby's parent was coming home. That felt really good.

Expand full comment
Apr 26Liked by Katherine Johnson Martinko

Just finished your book — loved it! Reading this, and having just seen my daughters perform in a musical and hating filming the song while also watching it (bc I knew they’d want to see the video), it occurs to me that something that might work for me is asking another parent to film something my kid is in that their kid isn’t in and swap. Get the video and be present.

Expand full comment
author

That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing. And I'm so happy you enjoyed reading my book.

Expand full comment
Apr 25Liked by Katherine Johnson Martinko

Your substack has quickly become my favorite. I learn so much and am also reminded of so many things I already know in my heart but haven’t committed to my brain yet. Thank you for your work and your words.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks for your kind words! It's so nice to hear that.

Expand full comment

I relate to this a lot. My partner is actively working on his phone habits, but still checks texts and other things in the middle of me talking at least once, if not several times a day. Sometimes I go silent and wait until he's finished, like you say, but honestly the frequency with which it happens starts to make *me* feel like I'm being passive aggressive. But after reading this, I need to remind myself that it's him that's being rude, and stick to my desire to justwait until he's finished (and have him be more mindful of when he does it in the first place.) Pushing through and saying what I'm saying while he's staring at his screen because "he's still listening" always feels terrible. Sometimes it's true, he's heard what I've said, but other times it's definitely not true.

Expand full comment

Exactly

Expand full comment

I couldn't agree with this more!! I'm glad I'm not the only one!

Expand full comment