When my old cellphone suffered death by drowning, for me it was the beginning of an odyssey to a land I never wanted to enter.

It was the land of the ridiculously high priced cellphone.

Never thought I would go there.

While I willingly and happily joined the chorus singing the praise of having a cellphone, all I ever needed was a simple phone that let me make and receive calls.

I was happy when cellphones became part of my life because it gave me a feeling of added safety when I was driving somewhere, knowing that help could be quickly summoned, if needed.

Then my daughters turned me on to the joys of texting — something little kids almost learn to do from the cradle. But I was a slow convert. It wasn’t until two years ago that I got a cellphone where I could text. When I finally did, I wondered why it took me so long.

I think it’s glorious to text with my daughters every day. It may only be a line or two but it’s enough for us to keep track of each other.

I now understand why they insisted texting was so much better than calling because there are no inconvenient interruptions to one’s day. If we have someone we want to discuss, we just send a text saying call me when it’s convenient.

When my daughter’s friend was selling her old iPhone so she could buy the newest model, buying it from her was an easy and affordable way for me to upgrade, too.

I would have kept that phone forever if I didn’t make the mistake of putting my purse on the sink in the ladies’ room. Unknown to me it was an automated faucet that turned on when it sensed motion. My heavy purse triggered water gushing into it.

I thought I caught it in time but I was wrong. The you-break it, we fix it store can fix a lot of things but my cellphone wasn’t one.

When I saw the price of the new iPhones, I hesitated to spend that kind of money.

When Hurricane Irma came along and I found myself huddled in the dark for a few days with my friends, no electricity meant we had no idea what was going on weather wise.

It was only Lynn and her working cellphone that kept us connected to the outside world.

It was then that I resolved I would bite the bullet and buy another iPhone. When the latest model came along, it was the perfect time for me to buy one of the older models.

I insure my house and my car but I never before had to insure my phone. I wanted a policy that insured against stupidity — mine. Couldn’t get that but I did get it insured against water damage.

Coincidentally, while all that was going on I saw an old photo on the Internet that brought to mind how much far telephones have progressed. The photo was of a bank of phone operators plugging in calls on a huge switchboard.

That brought back memories of my childhood when I used to stand outside the big window of the local phone company, watching operators make our calls.

Do you remember those “number please”days when it took the help of an operator to make a phone call?

Probably not unless you’re a very well seasoned youngster like me.

Well, if you remember operators, do you remember party lines? Growing up in my town, everyone had a party line. That meant there was no such thing as a private phone call because those on your party line could listen in at will — and many did.

We thought it was big stuff when we got a private line.

Today, the words party line conjure totally different meanings. No one thinks party line is about not being able to make a phone call because other people are gabbing away on your phone line.

Today, we take our nifty cellphones for granted. We are no longer dazzled by all we can do with a cellphone.

We can call friends with just a voice command.

My new phone transcribes my voice phone mail into printed messages.

Our cellphones can wake us up, keep track of our meetings, let us know when it’s time to take medicine or time to pick up the kids.

Our phones can give us superb driving directions, let us know if there is a traffic backup down the road, take us to the nearest gas station or best restaurant.

They can let us surf the Internet, listen to our favorite music, and learn the answer to the most obscure fact we want to know.

Throw in the apps and the wonders of the cellphone increase dramatically.

I used to worry that if something happened to me when I was driving alone at night my family would never know how to find me. With one simple App my family can track my whereabouts even if I’m thousands of miles away.

All that is a far cry from the days of needing an operator to make a call.

Sometimes we can better appreciate what we have when we think about how far we’ve come.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.