5 Minute Friday: Connect
GO
Homer (our minivan) drove us further and further across the Upper Peninsula and into Canada. And in some ways it made me worry.
Already, I had spent a week of having a frustrating time trying to connect with the internet, use my phone, and upload and publish my last two blog posts. The posts that were supposed to be done before vacation.
But they weren’t done.
They weren’t done because I am getting better and connecting with those littles before me and the big people around me. The ones who pull my fingers away from the keyboard because they are valuable to me.
I snapped my last stateside photo.
And went silent.
No data connection for me. No tweets. No texts. No Facebook updates.
Quiet.
I wondered. Will I have withdrawal. Will I think about blog comments, if someone tweeted an unique link, or if I received a personal email that will bring about excitement.
But I didn’t. I found the only withdrawal I had was from my dog’s antics.
Instead, I took the time to enjoy tiny toads. Strider stunts. Lego videos. Loon floats. Picnic fires. Long quiet times by the lake. Dock to Water Olympics.
The longer I connected with those people in real life, the less I wanted to return.
But as we journeyed home . . .
Like the pull of the Ring on Frodo, I pulled the phone out where I drank my first Canadian Starbucks. I took a picture. Before we passed Canadian customs to sit on the bridge for 45 minutes at the Sault St. Marie bridge, I found myself scrolling through a weeks worth of Instagram.
These days I am trying to connect in both places. Intentional about waking up early to make connections with others God has called me to reach out to in my job and making sure that I unplug and literally turn my entire body to make good eye contact when a warm little body comes up to share with me a new development in their play. (That was a run on . . . but then again I am allowed to. It’s Five Minute Friday.)
STOP
love how you processed leaving that online connection behind … looks like there’s more than one of us writing about that this morning!
It seriously was a process. The first week of our vacation, our internet connection was HORRIBLE. And left me so frustrated. But once I had to turn my phone off . . . it was truly glorious. I loved the simplicity.
Oh the heart of a working/writing/teaching mama. I longed for a little one to join me this quiet, rainy morning as I read my bible, to have a moment to connect with them before the world got busy…so many things pulling in so many directions. Thank you for being a leading inspiration to pull away from the busy and spend time with those who matter the most. Time is short.
I hear you girl. And I want to be to the point, that any time I am doing my bible study — I welcome them. I don’t see them as a distraction but as an opportunity to engage with them and that precious heart. I am most certainly going to pare down this school year. Our schooling is moving away from my computer which will impact life significantly.
I love it. I wondered what happened to you, but I knew it had to be a good thing. I’m almost scared to start school. But discipline is key, and something I need to work on. Disconnect from it all to give them attention. Thanks for the encouragement. I think we need to all stay accountable to each other!
We could always get together and chat . . . since we live relatively close. Hint hint hint . . .
Oh the beautiful connection that happens when on vacation with the people we love, when we are not pre-occupied with all the dailies that take so much of our precious time and energy. Thanks for taking 5 to share.
Great post! I’ve been disconnected this last week as we move, and I have really enjoyed getting back to the simple life with my little ones. Enjoying the little things I often missed. I’d love for you to share this on Think About It Thursday http://homemaidsimple.blogspot.com/2012/08/is-too-much-computer-time-bad-think.html
It’s both connecting, isn’t it? Here in this amazing online world, but (even more?) in our personal, physical world. Good connections in both, but we need focused time for our family, don’t we? Thanks for this post.