Good morning! Happy Wednesday, Mamma. Halfway there.
Our little phone-off experiment was, in my mind, a wonderful success. I had forgotten what it was like to just BE THERE with no interruptions. I raised my kids their whole childhoods with no-TV-ever and no-screen-time-except-on-weekends rules. The ever-present screen of the Smart Phone just snuck past me as a distraction.
We talked. We made dinner. Wait, back to that first one: we TALKED. And laughed. And I loved it. Wish I had thought of this sooner. Teen One talked to me about possible career options. Teen Two talked about being nervous to move away.
And you know what else? It was peaceful. Peaceful like I had forgotten home could be.
When I went back to the phone at 9:00 I had two fun texts from friends that I answered and two computer generated voicemails from scammers.
I like this plan.
Another thing I did differently yesterday was to use video-phone when checking in with my kiddo at college. It is a far better form of communication. The face tells you so much. Our company is going to all video communication, I suspect for the same reason.
On business trips, of course, I’ll keep the phone on, but from now on, at home, 6-9 is no-phone-zone. I might even make it from 5-9, we’ll see.
Stay connected to those kiddos. And carve out some peace for yourself in the midst of the storm. Your home. Your family. Your refuge.
With love,