Some people camp alone in the wilderness and others take a long drive by themselves. I decided to ask Erik, my husband, to change my Facebook and Twitter passwords for a week when it was time for a little peace and quiet for self-reflection. The week has passed and I'm reluctant to log back on. It has been great. I spent quality time with my daughter and checked off a few items on my to-do list. Erik hasn't lost patience with me for looking at my itouch while he's talking. I am pretty sure that I've been a better wife and mother in the last week than at any other time in the last few years. I'll admit, I have a bit of an online social networking problem.
In October I posted an article entitled "Rabbinical Scholars Forgive Me" applying Chris Young's song "The Man I Wanna Be" to Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. "I wanna be a givin' man, I wanna really start livin' man. God, I'm asking you to come change me, Into the man I wanna be"
Without being overly dramatic, I'll personalize the message in this song and say that want to be a better person this year, particularly a better wife and mother. How am I going to do this? By living more like the words in Lee Brice's "Love Like Crazy". "Go to work, do your best, don't out-smart your common sense
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy, And love like crazy." (Jewish friends, don't be alarmed. I'm not going start praying on my knees.)
Notice that none of the things on Lee Brice's list, hard work, diligence, common sense, faith or love, require Facebook or Twitter. I do have connections and friendships that rely on Facebook and Twitter for communication, so what is the solution? Only logging on when I truly have nothing else I need to do. But as it says in Dierks Bentley's (with Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson) "Bad Angel", "I'm standing at the crossroads of temptation and salvation street." I may need to enlist Erik's password changing services to keep this monkey off my back.
Ok, ok, I am impressed with your self-reflection and your self-restraint. However, as someone who really enjoys your postings on FB, I do feel like I am still keeping up with your life by being connected on-line. For me, if you sign-off (except when you have nothing to do..and really, when is that going to happen?) I'm going to miss you. Just my $0.02! Although we've been here 5 years, we still miss our Raleigh friends and the special connection we had in that community.
ReplyDeleteI close my lap top when it's too much of a distraction or I am busy. Somehow the fact that it's shut & I'd have to log back in makes me forget about it more. Remember, the internet works for you - not you for the internet. You just need to learn how to ignore its siren song more often. ;) My morning routine doesn't involve reading the paper, it involves catching up online. Set a timer & then when it goes off, get up & leave. It's a great time suck otherwise.
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