The students journaled their day and expressed how difficult it was to fast and how often they were tempted to turn on their radio, check a text message, or call a friend.
When asked what they spent their time doing, I was amazed at how many of them did things that they would have never given the thought to doing. Some decided to read a book (on their own), play Scrabble, talk with a parent for an extended period of time. Two even attempted to go on a bike ride.
This project got me to thinking about what I am missing as both a parent and a husband with the way I use technology. Do I have extended phone calls with others while I could be spending time with my family? Do I surf the internet for hours and miss valuable time with my wife?
Our time with family and friends is very precious, and as I watch my kids grow up, I am becoming more and more convicted that I am missing precious opportunities like teaching my daughter to ride a bike, or flipping my two oldest on the mattress upstairs, or reading more wonderful stories before bedtime.
Technology is not evil. Blogs are not evil. But after giving it some thought, I think I might be posting a little less and spending more time with the "fam."
I don't know a single blogger who hasn't struggled with balance in blogging, be it writing, reading or just thinking about what would be a worthy post. My first year I was so caught up in it, making new friends, finding others who actually thought like me and relearning my love for the written creative flow. There comes a point when you realize that you have to start living the life of which you want to write, otherwise it is no life at all.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I have the rule that I can only blog when the kids are asleep and my husband has other activities. It makes for some early morning thinking and late night blogging at times. However, I also prefaced that rule with another one: I only do it when I want to do it. It takes the pressure off me; I don't have to post every day and I find that when I do read other blogs, I enjoy it because it's not a duty, but rather a delight.
Enjoy that fam time!