Being present, being truly present, is one of those things that is of the utmost importance to me and to us as a family. I love the connections that are forged by time spent together. It is because being present is so very important that I have decided to cut my time online significantly.
Don't get me wrong, I love connecting online too. I love the connections that have occurred thanks to this blog. I love the friendships that have been maintained, or strengthened, or even restarted thanks to Facebook. What I don't like is the vast amount of time that I loose floating around Facebook, Pintrest and the interwebz in general.
It all came to a screeching halt earlier this week when the girls and I had a rough start to the day. I had been on Facebook for longer than I had planned and I found myself snipping at them. It was in that instant that I realized that something had to give. This is not the kind of mama I have ever been nor the kind of mama that I ever want to be. I realized that something needed to change STAT or we were going to end up being a very different family than we had ever been before (a thought that completely terrified me). As we drove to the library I reflected on how things had been lately. How snippy I had been, how much time I had been spending online, how rushed we had all been feeling, and how much stuff we had been doing (too much, in all honesty) and how something needed to change and it was up to me to change it. I decided right then and there I'd start by scaling back my time online (and cut out a few activities that we'd been doing, as well). Rather than delete my Facebook account I'd begin by simply turning off the chat feature.
Oh, and seriously, the timeliness of this post from Glennon really hit home too (though in the name of full disclosure I don't think I was as bad as what she describes).
It's amazing how much less time I am spending on Facebook (and the internet in general) since I turned off Facebook chat. Our days are back to running as smooth as ever. I check in online throughout the day (since I do love seeing what everyone is up to!) but it's only for brief periods rather than long stretched each time I log on.
So friends, if we're connected via Facebook and you need or want to chat with me feel free to drop me a PM. I'll reply as soon as I have a moment. Perhaps one day I'll turn the chat feature back on, but for now I am going to make sure that wherever I am I am all there, fully present and totally accounted for. xoxo
Don't get me wrong, I love connecting online too. I love the connections that have occurred thanks to this blog. I love the friendships that have been maintained, or strengthened, or even restarted thanks to Facebook. What I don't like is the vast amount of time that I loose floating around Facebook, Pintrest and the interwebz in general.
It all came to a screeching halt earlier this week when the girls and I had a rough start to the day. I had been on Facebook for longer than I had planned and I found myself snipping at them. It was in that instant that I realized that something had to give. This is not the kind of mama I have ever been nor the kind of mama that I ever want to be. I realized that something needed to change STAT or we were going to end up being a very different family than we had ever been before (a thought that completely terrified me). As we drove to the library I reflected on how things had been lately. How snippy I had been, how much time I had been spending online, how rushed we had all been feeling, and how much stuff we had been doing (too much, in all honesty) and how something needed to change and it was up to me to change it. I decided right then and there I'd start by scaling back my time online (and cut out a few activities that we'd been doing, as well). Rather than delete my Facebook account I'd begin by simply turning off the chat feature.
Oh, and seriously, the timeliness of this post from Glennon really hit home too (though in the name of full disclosure I don't think I was as bad as what she describes).
It's amazing how much less time I am spending on Facebook (and the internet in general) since I turned off Facebook chat. Our days are back to running as smooth as ever. I check in online throughout the day (since I do love seeing what everyone is up to!) but it's only for brief periods rather than long stretched each time I log on.
So friends, if we're connected via Facebook and you need or want to chat with me feel free to drop me a PM. I'll reply as soon as I have a moment. Perhaps one day I'll turn the chat feature back on, but for now I am going to make sure that wherever I am I am all there, fully present and totally accounted for. xoxo
Good for you mama! Knowing you need to make a change is one thing, but making it, that is a big move, and one that, as you can already see, makes a big difference. xo
ReplyDeleteThanks, doll! I'm proud of me too! xoxo
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