Whoa. It’s been awhile. I was off the grid. And I loved it.
Last week, my friend Jodi and I were fortunate enough to whip off on a three-day tour of Cape Breton to check out the new Chevy Malibu (more on the trip and the car coming asap). It was a fantastic time to connect with each other, listen to some killer tunes (Willie’s Roadhouse on Sirius anyone?), and turn off the iPhones. In case you weren’t aware – wifi towers are not a priority to Cape Bretoners and in hindsight, they are blessed for it.
I’ve become addicted to my smartphone over the last year. My job aside from UrbanMoms is very social media driven and as a single mom, I find myself reaching out more and more at night to my online friends via Twitter for ‘human’ contact. But lately, I also find myself bringing the phone to the park, checking it while I’m cooking dinner, walking with it to school to get Will. WHY?!?! It’s so not necessary. I realized in Cape Breton that you actually CAN live without it. You will survive without knowing what everyone is doing. Shocking. I know.
I used to get enraged when I’d go to the park and see parents texting away while their kids are playing…and now, I’ve become that person. I’m not a fan. At all.
I read about Chloe Sevigny and her family doing technology free weekends. From Friday afternoon until Sunday morning there is nothing. No cell phone; no television; no laptop. She admits that it was a massive adjustment. I bet you’re thinking – ‘I could totally do that’. But think about it – it would be tough. I’m not going to go THAT far. I just can’t. What I am going to do is make a promise to myself. I want to be present for Will. If we’re out and about, the wireless is going off. If he asks me to play, I’m not going to say ‘in a minute’ and continue to see who is eating what on Twitter. I’m going to have the phone down already and ready to make up stories with Pokemon, Kermit and Alvin the Chipmunk. Soon he’ll be the one on the phone and I’ll be the one begging for a playdate.
Are you with me? Ready to go off the grid for a bit?
When we camp there are no electronics for the girls. I use my
My
Phone for pics !!! But most of the time it stays in the camper
What’s your damage? classic and killing me….
I catch myself doing the same with my youngest– playing but really reading emails. I have stopped that but made an exception when Pokemon cards come out. I really can’t be expected to play those !? What’s my health? My damage? Wasn’t that an insult in high school? “What’s your damage man?”
I love being off the grid, actually. When we cottage, the internet is so dodgy, I shouldn’t even bother to try to stay connected. There’s no tv… but we do watch DVD’s. And I’m not much of a phone person anyway – I’m always surprised when it rings!!
The best thing about going up to our cottage is “NO TECHNOLOGY” we don’t even have a t.v or a radio (that has to change, the radio part)…the only thing the kids bring is a DVD player for the 3 hour drive. It’s beautiful…we watch the kids throw rocks in the water and at night we catch fire flies, lay on the dock and count the stars….I had free data on my phone for 2 months and BBM…I have to say…I hated it….at home though my computer is always on. But if I am out and about I just have a regular phone, no BBM, no data – just 150 text msgs a month so I have to watch my limit…I am the mom at the park that hates the “texters” watch your kids please…enjoy your time with Will, it goes by sooo fast…