You rush out of the house.  You get into your car.  You back out of your driveway.  You reach for your cell phone.

Nothing.

You reach for your phone again.  Still nothing.

You're at a stop sign.  You search around the car... the seat... your purse... the console... underneath the passenger seat.  Again.  No phone.

Gasp!  Panic!  Where could it be?  I think about it.  It was on the counter when I left.  No, it was in the laundry room.  Wait maybe by the remote.  In front of the TV?  Oh wait, it's gotta be on the counter.

Okay... wait a minute.  It's not the end of the world.  I have survived without a cell phone before.

Has it come to this?  We rely on modern technology so much we don't know what it's like to go about our day without a cell phone?  There's a generation that grew up with it, and there's a generation that just recently signed up for a calling plan.

Remember those days when we didn't have to walk out of the house without one?  When our pockets and purses were lighter?  When running to the store meant carrying only your wallet and a set of keys?  Now you HAVE to carry a cell phone.

I'm constantly asking myself what life was like without going mobile?  In fact it wasn't that long ago.  My first connection to the mobile world was in the late 90's.  Maybe 1998.  I'm guessing.  I just know it was sometime before 1999.  How did I survive my day without texting... calling... and updating my status?  I waited until I got to work, home, or wherever I was headed.

These days a couple hours without a cell phone is torture.  There's a disconnect.  I'm wondering how many missed calls?  How many messages will I have to answer?  I'm expecting a call and I promised to return one.  I was just about to call my mom and get her opinion on something.  What to do!

I went about my day without it.  After the show I left for my story assignment and arrived to the location early.  I was just about to let our photographer know where I was but I had no way of contacting him.  I did it the old-fashioned way.  I asked the location if I could use their phone and contacted my producers to call him.  One did but the call got disconnected.  Hmmm... the batteries on his cell phone died!  So much for that!

Why couldn't I have dialed him directly?  Oh, it's because I don't know his cell phone number by heart.  That's what cell phones do.  They store the numbers and names for you so you don't have to remember all of them.  Well, I've stored so many, I'm lucky if can remember just one.

Cell phones are convenient.  There's no doubt about that.  I can reach anyone from just about anywhere.  I've relied on mobile devices so much that I can't seem to tear away from them unless I'm forced to.  But honestly, the phone call can wait.

After my shoot, I drove back home, found my phone (it was on the counter!) and drove back to work.  I only missed 3 calls, but they were from one person.  I didn't have any voice mail messages and I ended up not returning any phone calls.

Did I end up calling my mom?  Sure.  I called her when I got home from work and had some time to really listen to her.  When I cleared my mind.  When I wasn't distracted.  When I wasn't making a lane change.  I have to admit.  It was kind of refreshing knowing I wasn't attached to a device.

I realized yes, I CAN survive without a cell phone... even for just a day.