That Text You Probably Shouldn't Have Sent

For context, Tony works at the deli in Dallas.

This matters because several years ago, Tony sent me a text that perfectly captures what happens when people hit send before they've fully thought things through.

Tony has a unique ability to restart his emotional operating system without warning.

At 7:00 a.m., he's questioning the future of the relationship.

By 10:45, he's sent a picture of his sandwich.

By noon, he's forgotten why he was upset in the first place.

The funny part is that Tony has already moved on.

The rest of us haven't.

We're still reviewing the original conversation, analyzing the evidence, discussing feelings, and wondering whether a response is required.

Meanwhile, Tony is standing at the deli counter ordering extra onions.

It's as if his emotional operating system crashed, rebooted and installed a new update while everyone else was still reading the error message.

No explanation, no transition, no acknowledgement that Version 1.0 ever existed. Just, Tony 2.0 has loaded successfully.