Her words were simple, sweet and full of wisdom, "Mama can we have a FaceBook-free home?"If I have learned anything in the past two years, through our journey with Cohen, it has been that family-time is precious.
Unfortunately, it is also easy for me to take this gift for granted. Even though I desire to seize every opportunity to enjoy each moment our family has together, I often fall prey to the distractions of the Internet. Usually, those distractions start out with a meaningful purpose but I often find myself lost in a sea of social media.
I'll be honest, I enjoy seeing my friends and their beautiful families, hearing about what amazing things they have going on in their lives, and especially the occasion when I get to encourage someone else for a change.
However, it's been a goal of mine for a while now to cut back on the amount of technology that streams into our home.
The older my kids get the more valuable this decision has become. I can feel our time ticking away and with it the opportunities for me to connect with these amazing little people in my presence.
That's the key, isn't it... To be present in our conversations, present in the moment... present with those that are in our presence.
It seems like such an obvious little observation, yet how often do we find ourselves neglecting those that are in the same room with us because we are virtually interacting with others?
What message are we sending to those closest to us?
It took one little question, posed to me by my sweet, wise child, to prompt me to reflect on my goals for what I want my children to learn from me.
My children deserve my attention more than anything else in the world, and doing so makes them feel valued. I want them to see me treat those people that are in my physical presence... valuable.
One of the many things I desire for them to understand is the significance of personal communication, the kind that can only happen when we look into another human's eyes.
We all deserve to feel valued.
It frightens me to think that this is quickly becoming a lost art on our next generation. It is easy to just text or message someone instead of speaking directly to them.
The truth is, there is far more accountability when the words we say are spoken out loud to an individual, allowing us to see their reaction and feel their emotions. We receive a unique interpersonal gift that happens in those types of interactions.
But I can't teach this to my children if I don't model it, which brings me to my decision.
I have decided to leave FaceBook.... indefinitely.
Why? Because I can't turn back time... or stop it, so I thought perhaps I would do my best to try to create more of it.
Using technology less will allow me to focus solely on the people that are in my presence... and lets face it, there is plenty going on right there to keep me busy enough!
Don't get me wrong I am not abandoning all technology. I will continue to blog, when time allows for it, to keep those that are praying for us up to date on our journey.
Please know that I will be thinking of you and keeping you in our prayers. I hope you will do the same for us.
Remember, you can always reach out to me through "last generation's" means of communication... lol
