In Praise of the Kitchen Phone

Family life without cell phones

My daughter’s face illuminated by a screen. Photo by Jesse Sparks.

I wish my kids had a kitchen phone.

Our singular household phone would hang proudly on the wall, just across from the sink. My kids would spend weeknights watching me tangle and twist that kitchen phone’s curling cord between my fingers as I shooed them away from my chat with Grandma, stretching its limits as I reached over to stir…