My Tech free week 4-3

Day 7. I made it. I was very unsure about this whole thing just a week ago. It amazes me how far I have come.

I have found that I simply can't live without the internet. Its where I have my fun. Its where I go to learn, socialize, and I have some work on there too. On the other hand, it is a incredible distraction. I have also found that it can bring people together, but if you aren't careful, it will come between you and those you care about.

I have caught a lot of grief from friends and family this week. In my experience, if you are being made fun of, you are on the right track. They say that I have to live, I can't deprive myself of everything I enjoy. So, I thought on it for a while. (Lots of time for thinking this week)
Is vegging out in front of a TV really living? I feel like I have lived so much more this week. TV is such a distraction. Not to mention the fact that there is so much on there that I don't care to have my family exposed to. All the advertisers trying to turn my children into mindless consuming machines. There is also the subject matter. Even on prime time. Too much sex, and other adult themes I don't care to have to explain to my 8 year old. There is just to much ICK out there. I know they are going to be exposed to this crap at school and other kids houses, but that doesn't mean I have to invite it into my home.

If you are what you eat, then are you also what you feed your soul? I don't want to feed my soul garbage.

I have found that in this week of no TV or internet that I feel like I have lived more purposefully. I have been more in tune with my family. Less distracted. I have been less frustrated with my children, and more satisfied in my roll as a mother, and wife. I have moved closer to God, partly because I am more in tune with my thoughts and feelings, and partly because if my increased time for prayer.

So, now that the week is over, I find myself as scared to turn the tech back on as I was to leave it behind.

 I am scared that if I let it back into my life, I will slowly become more and more lax until I am right back where I started. So, now the time for negotiations begins. I am not the only person living in this home. I also have to take my husbands feelings into account, and he is not as into this as I am.

While I am full on ready to get rid of the TV completely, he would like to watch it occasionally. The one in the bedroom is definitely going. The one in the basement will stay off, except for an occasional family movie night, maybe once per month or so.

Computer games are a thing of the past. no more farmville. No more cityville. Facebook will be limited. I will allow myself to check it in quite alone moments, but the computer will remain off until the kids are in bed. I need to always maintain my focus on my family.

There have been a few events in my life recently that remind me that life is just to short. I don't want to waste a single second of it. I want to live intentionally, enjoying every last second!




So, there it is. My Tech free week. as of today, 4-10, we are still TV free. We did have a family movie night last night, we watched Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. It was fun. The kids loved it. It was the first TV we had watched in 13 days, and it went right back off afterwards. I have been able to cut my internet use way down, and have gotten a lot more odd jobs done around the house. We are settling into a routine, and it seems to be working out nicely! I have to say, that giving up the TV is one of the best things we have done for our family! And it really wasn't as hard as I feared it would be.