Wednesday, February 24, 2010

She's Baaaaack!


Yay! Thank you so much for coming back. I’ve missed you! REALLY missed you.

Lest you think my week off from electronics yielded total communion with God, long, heartfelt discussions with my spouse, and family time around a roaring fire tossing a pig bladder back and forth a la Little House in the Big Woods, I thought I would update you on our week.

The kids did okay with the fast, but I’m not sure what they got out of it. I was NOT going for the whole "just follow some rules and you’ll be a better Christian thing;" I just wanted us to try something that would be hard for us, and to do it by relying on God.

Tom used the extra time to get more sleep and to catch up on Bible study. The kids and I did some complaining and a ton of reading. Jake read the first 4 books in the Lightning Thief series in the first ½ of the week. Molly said several times, "I HATE LENT!" Not really what we were going for. She pointed out she should get to choose if and what to give up instead of having something chosen by Mom and Dad. Duh. She was totally right.

Now she is planted on the couch for the day with a teeny tiny fever, because apparently missing 2 weeks of school for snow did not cut into her learning time enough. I know I could have doped her up and sent her anyway since she feels fine. I guess she’ll be able to recoup any lost TV time in the next few hours. And it’s supposed to snow again tonight. Excellent.

Some thoughts:

*Fasting from TV during the Winter Olympics kind of stinks. Reading about Shawn White’s gnarly moves in the newspaper is not the same as watching it. And that heart-racing feeling of "don't fall, don't fall!" during figure skating? Doesn't translate to the page.

*I am far too dependent on electronics. I had been checking Facebook 5-10 times a day in order to not miss any breaking news. It was the last thing I did before bed. Not sure about your experience, but I’ve yet to encounter breaking news on Facebook. Totally addicted.

*My dependence on electronics greatly cuts down on the time I spend reading, studying, praying, and paying attention to my kids. It's far too easy to avoid putting limits on myself and instead making what I'm doing on the computer look like "work," while at the same time acting like my kids are wasting their time on the Wii. I mean, hello, blogging is MY Wii, baby. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

* I have made very few attempts to connect with people in person over the past few months because I have the sense of being connected online. I love the blogging community. My online friends have enriched my life greatly, and I hope I enrich theirs, but I still need to cultivate face to face relationships. You see, because of my personality, it is far too easy for me avoid making the effort to connect and spend time with people.

* I love blogging and am quite fond of my DVR. They are not the problem. I just need to keep my priorities in order. I think God used this fast to show me how to slow down and not fill every waking moment with...something!
Last but not least:

*On the bow chicka wow wow front: The fast unfortunately coincided with cramps and bloating. Bummer. And the whole reclaiming the lost art of kissing thing? Not so much.

15 comments:

Caroline @ The Feminist Housewife said...

Kudos for taking such a big step...

I am starting to wonder how I can limit my time in front of the computer. It's not healthy for me, my husband, or my kiddo. = /

Inspiring!!

Kristina P. said...

I gave up Lent for Lent.

Good for you!

Kate Coveny Hood said...

Of course you were missed. I love the Molly details. She cracks me up.

purejoy said...

what a great week.
i think lent is a really good time (see my post last wednesday, if you missed it) to connect with God. i'm just not about this seeming competition to see who can give up the best thing. one of my small group girls said she told some kids at a retreat that she had given up chocolate and someone commented that the sacrifice was "uninspired."

agree with your daughter. there's fourty days in lent. you could each pick something for the next week. it doesn't have to be a give up. it could be an adopt, or a give. . .

we are kindred spirits i felt like could have written that myself. i have to work at face-to-face and my online friends are so supportive (and hilarious!).
have a great week!

Sokphal said...

Welcome baaaack! I missed reading your hilarious entries!

Lynn Kellan said...

You are NEVER allowed to give up the internets EVER again!!! You make me laugh, and I'm selfish. I need you.

Anonymous said...

Oh so glad you are back! But I think it's pretty cool that you went away, even if it wasn't a hugely transformative experience for everyone (Molly!).

jbhat

citymouse said...

Good for you. It has to be liberating to recognize a dependence like that. (I hope that communicates okay in print. I totally admire you... I don't think I would have been successful. I've even considered bringing my laptop into the loo with me.)

As far as the bow chicka wow wow front... maybe you can catch up if we get all this snow they're calling for. (Hubby has his fingers crossed for some extra cuddle time in the morning...hehehe.)

for a different kind of girl said...

I am envious of your commitment. I honestly believe my children have turned into cyborgs and are capable of functioning with hands that look shockingly like Nintendo DS systems and Wii remotes. I think after less than two hours, I'd have been all "Hey, God, listen. I'm sorry. I tried. I honestly did, but I think you see my pain, yeah?" and the kids would be racing Mario Kart again.

But that connecting thing? So understand what you mean.

vawriter said...

Welcome back! You were missed, Missy.

I envy discipline in any form, but i think I could give up chocolate more easily than computer and TV.(And if you knew me and my chocomania, you'd know how pitiful that makes me.)

Cramps and bloating...I remember those! There is definitely an upside to menopause.

Face-to-face friends are great. I went to my first meeting of a book club yesterday, and I am sure the woman who invited me was appalled by how much I talked. I'm tired of having my own voice be the only one I hear all day long. Get out there, girl!

Shay said...

I think you get double brownie points for giving up electronics for a week of lent.

Was it only a week you were away ...Anna , it felt like YEARS.

Dont do that to us EVER again.

Next year be like the rest of us and give up chocolate.

Christy said...

Welcome back! To the blog world and the last few days of the Olympics! Sorry your kissing strategy didn't pan out - but it made me laugh!

suzanneelizabeths.com said...

You are absolutely right and this reminds me that I need to establish a little electronics fast in my own life.

Glennon said...

Anna,
Your "five to ten" times a day checking facebook is stressing me out.
I check like 100 times a day I bet. I need help.
I missed you. I kept checking everyday to see if maybe you caved and "secret-posted."
Love, G

bernthis said...

I'm a Jew and I gave up my looking at my stats for lent. I'm dying here. Ironically, you couldn't get me to celebrate Yom Kippur again. No stats is one thing, no food is another.