Ephemeral texts

Don’t know about you, but there’s a few texts I’ve received over the years I treasured and would liked to have kept. But when it comes time to replace your mobile phone there’s no way of transferring all those precious scraps of messages to the new model. So I’ve had to lose them.

On my latest model I’ve got the texts from daughter Beth when the family went to Disneyland Paris in March last year. Each one communicates the excitement of their first trip abroad. Also got a few grandchildren related funnies worth keeping. So I got to thinking about just recording them in a private blog… one only known to family members and not found by search engines. And that’s got me on to recording ALL the texts I receive.

Don’t suppose I get remotely as many as most texters, but for me it must average a couple or so a day… some days 5 to 10, other days none. So in addition to those I’d saved I’ve been recording all my received texts since last week in a new blog, with an occasional comment in italics where an explanation is helpful. But for the most part I’ve just recorded faithfully what the texts said exactly, adding a headline for the day and date and a bold header for time and sender.

Had some doubts about the usefulness. Was I wasting my time? Was it going to be a load of gobbledegook? After a week I’m absolutely and completely sold on the idea. Already I can see how valuable and interesting a record of our family life this will be. Texts are a special and different means of communication. The trivia of day to day life is recorded in them, mixed with rare heart stopping or weepy moments. We just throw all of this away without thinking! Why?

The last words of the novel 'A Month in the Country' by J. L. Carr haunt me at times…

We can ask and ask

But we can’t have again

What once seemed ours forever