Enjoy the Moments

Every morning I wake up and the first thing I do is check my phone. Emails, texts, weather, social media websites, and so on.  It's a convenience we can't seem to live without and how my day starts off is pretty much my whole day. Phone always near by and it takes little to no reason for me to be back on it or the laptop.  

I'm a mnom of two wonderful girls who deserve every minute of me but yet I've uttered the words "In a minute" to them so many times and that minute is never just a minute. I've had days where I'm tired and busy so it's easy to let them get on the laptop, or just about any electronic to keep them busy. My internet now feels like an addiction I can't live without. We have a need to know everything now and the joy of internet gives us that power. I know what my friends are doing, from pictures, updates of everyday life.  I know the weather outside before even walking out the door and even get to know the weather on the other side of the world. Celebrity news within minutes of it being released. We all have access to everything happening outside of our own lives and can't seem to live without it. We don't have to wait until the six o'clock news or the mornings paper. News within our own circle of life is hardly ever shared by a visit at the door or a call anymore. It's a post, text, email or even a tweet, 

When I look back at my childhood I consider to be one of the lucky ones. The playgrounds were normally full, my bike hardly ever sat in the garage. We passed notes and would spend hours hanging out and pretty much doing nothing but having fun.  My time was spent with people near me. Living life together in one form or another. Hardly ever uttering the words "in a minute" because my life only existed within my little circle of life. Things happened outside of that circle and I'd eventually find out or not but I loved it that way.  My moments in life were spent with friends, family or even alone. Now my moments are spent finding out about everyone else's moments. 

It's incredible how much internet has taken up our lives.  Just spend one week or even just a day and take notice. Why not even go as far as keeping track of how many minutes we now share with it. Even at social gatherings we can't help but check our phones for one reason or another. Internet is fabulous for so many reasons too but I've finally learned to set my limits. 

I've learn no email, text or post is more important then the person I am with at that moment. I do keep my phone near me especially since I have kids but other then what I consider an important text or call my phone won't take me away from my moment. I even started with no internet the last Sunday of each month.  Just before bed on Saturday I turn everything off.  Yes the phones still have service but only a phone call might be answered on it. I thought unplugging the internet would be the hardest thing to do but it wasn't at all. Of course my kids were totally against the idea of no internet for a day but in the end our day felt fuller.  We did so much more together and even had more fun.  What I thought would be hard is now something we look forward to.  We went old school and love it.  The bikes are used more and we even write notes on a regular basis.  Instead of everything being a text it's now notes too which was something fun that came out of all this.  

So take notice!  Notice how something that brought us convenience has become sort of an addiction.  Once you notice you'll see how easy it is to cut down.  How easy it is to set a day with no internet like I do the last Sunday of each month.  I challenge everyone to just unplug the last Sunday of each month. One day out of the month where your life is spent in your moment.