I was recently reading an issue of Entertainment Weekly from a few weeks ago, and the cover story was Conan's writers' strike survival guide...i.e. what to do with yourself now that you can't vegetate in front of the boob tube every night as you otherwise would. I found myself rolling my eyes & feeling like those TV addicts needed to get a life. But then...
Late Friday afternoon our phone stopped working. I changed to the phone with the cord, thinking it was somehow a problem with the cordless not being fully charged, but the same static/buzz was there. Then we realized that the phone was only giving a busy signal when anyone called it, and our internet was out too.
Suddenly I was the victim of my own mini-strike of technological distraction. It was a weekend, and I couldn't call anyone, and I couldn't get online to blog - or check email - or look things up. I felt so restless! And then I realized that I wasn't any different from the TV watchers I'd so harshly judged earlier that day. But then I also realized that it wasn't that long ago we didn't have internet easily accessible. And how many times have I gone on wilderness retreats, or even just camping, and had no technology (not even a light bulb) for a week?
So I reminded myself of how fun it is to have limited technology. On top of it all, the weather was wintry - as you might expect February to be, but not so much in New Mexico. Sunday the sky was increasingly cloudy and the wind was powerful. Today we had the same strong wind, complete cloud cover, but we also got lots of snow (for here). To top it off, Simon had hurt his arm yesterday and I was reluctant to shuffle him in & out of the car if it wasn't necessary, so we just hibernated at home.
The phone didn't ring. I didn't have to call anyone or check emails. I just played with my kid in our warm house while it blew blustery horizontal snow outside. And it was a wonderful, snuggly, sweet day.
Late this afternoon a guy from the phone company came & fixed a few things, so even though we still have a little repairing to do, we at least have our phone & internet functioning again. But I didn't get online right away, and I still haven't called anyone. I wonder if I could do a self-imposed technology strike while home (it's easier while camping - you don't expect to check Facebook!) periodically, to remind myself of how easy it is to become dependent on external communication rather than just being here, present, with my kiddo.
Late Friday afternoon our phone stopped working. I changed to the phone with the cord, thinking it was somehow a problem with the cordless not being fully charged, but the same static/buzz was there. Then we realized that the phone was only giving a busy signal when anyone called it, and our internet was out too.
Suddenly I was the victim of my own mini-strike of technological distraction. It was a weekend, and I couldn't call anyone, and I couldn't get online to blog - or check email - or look things up. I felt so restless! And then I realized that I wasn't any different from the TV watchers I'd so harshly judged earlier that day. But then I also realized that it wasn't that long ago we didn't have internet easily accessible. And how many times have I gone on wilderness retreats, or even just camping, and had no technology (not even a light bulb) for a week?
So I reminded myself of how fun it is to have limited technology. On top of it all, the weather was wintry - as you might expect February to be, but not so much in New Mexico. Sunday the sky was increasingly cloudy and the wind was powerful. Today we had the same strong wind, complete cloud cover, but we also got lots of snow (for here). To top it off, Simon had hurt his arm yesterday and I was reluctant to shuffle him in & out of the car if it wasn't necessary, so we just hibernated at home.
The phone didn't ring. I didn't have to call anyone or check emails. I just played with my kid in our warm house while it blew blustery horizontal snow outside. And it was a wonderful, snuggly, sweet day.
Late this afternoon a guy from the phone company came & fixed a few things, so even though we still have a little repairing to do, we at least have our phone & internet functioning again. But I didn't get online right away, and I still haven't called anyone. I wonder if I could do a self-imposed technology strike while home (it's easier while camping - you don't expect to check Facebook!) periodically, to remind myself of how easy it is to become dependent on external communication rather than just being here, present, with my kiddo.
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