Thanks to M.G. for the link tip and the reminder. For reprint permissions, please contact me via the blog.

I am not a cellphone.
I don’t want to have to change my style every eighteen months to hold your interest. Do I really have to be RAZR-thin for you to be seen with me? I don’t really want to download new tones and wallpaper to keep up with your friends.

I am not a search engine.
I may not always be instantaneously at your service the moment you reach out for a small tidbit of information, day or night. I do, in fact, have interests, priorities, and a life.

I am not a text message.
I care if you speak to me bluntly. I feel slighted if you tune out when I am trying to communicate with you. I do not appreciate repeating myself three times so that you can “multitask.”

I am not a file download.
If you cancel on me at the last minute, I am offended. If you don’t have the patience to wait ten minutes when I am delayed, I feel devalued.

I am not an application launcher.
Yes, it is OK to feel impatient and edgy when an application takes ten, twenty, or thirty seconds to load. No, it is not OK to feel impatient and edgy when it takes me ten, twenty, or thirty seconds to reflect upon your words, get in touch with my feelings, and formulate a response.

I am not an e-mail.
Guess what? When you don’t respond to me, you make me suffer tension, disappointment and rejection to spare you the inconvenience and discomfort of having to say… “no”. You respect me when you answer me.

Me. I am me. I am your sister, your spouse, your co-worker. I am your friend. I need to share a relationship with sensitivity, with compromise, with thoughtfulness and selflessness.

I am not a character in a multi-player virtual universe. I am a person.