Most of my blog posts are written alongside a clothesline. 
Maybe it's the soft, sweet breeze,
Or the moments of solitude,
Or the deliberate, methodical act of placing of clothes and pins that refuses to be rushed that gives time and makes space for thoughts to blend and meld and make music worth sharing.
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My sister told me a few days back about this game on Facebook called "FarmTown". In this game you grow crops, harvest crops, earn money. Online.
I have not signed up (she and I laugh, I have my own crops to harvest). Although, it should be noted that I have yet to harvest potatoes after one day, nor have they ever brought me monetary gain. (So maybe I'm playing the wrong game?)
I hear about a game such as this and I can barely help but shake my head at how disconnected we become from real life. Not because anyone playing really thinks it takes a few hours to raise crops, but that it becomes more important than those things happening outside the screen.
And I shake my head, but in some ways, some days, I find myself guilty of just such misplaced affections. My relationships are buoyed not by heart to heart talks, but by sentence-long updates. My plans for being a better mom are delayed by the desire to read more ideas on being a better mom. The fountain of overflowing knowledge is delightful, and also quite distracting.
Delightful in that it creates community that I never knew could exist- kindred spirits hundreds of miles away. Delightful in that I have found inspiration and mentoring for those roles in which I long to excel. Some of those ideas are, well, amazing. And of course, delightful in that it does pull me closer to those I love who are so far away.
And yet distracting in that it is never-ending. It pulls on my brain throughout the day; I long to be here, learning and gleaning, instead of out there- living and being.
And so my real life crops over-ripen in the fields and my kids feel second to this little box and I am off-kilter and know it.
So...because it's nearly fall, with visitors and harvest and a myriad of projects to complete before snow flies...
And because I have a list a mile long of things that I want to do and be (that involve real -life action)
I'm taking a vacation from the Internet...to spend more time out by the swing, and in the sprinkler, and in front of the sewing machine, and curled up with a laundry-basket of library books and two sun-weary, dirt-laden boys ready for adventure of another kind.
I long to make that clothesline-like space in more places in my life, allowing quiet so that thoughts can meld into things worth sharing.
Jess from Making Home decided to take a similar net-break earlier this summer, and for her reasoning, she mentioned that she desired to "neither overestimate the importance of online activities, nor underestimate the resources, wisdom, and camaraderie available here...Time away helps me to rightly value what's here, and rightly value what's NOT here."
May we always try and keep that perspective.
What would you do without the pull of media? What would that quiet space allow in your life- just for a week or two?
(And of course, though I will not have the Internet in my house for a few weeks, I will still check on emails at the library once a week or so...so if you comment, know that I will get it, it just might take me a few days to respond.)
9 comments:
Thanks for sharing... I love the way you have with your words. I continue to think about this idea, too. My hubby and I have been talking about what it would be to let go of all online activity for at least a week - could we do it??
I have already because I've been gone for a week - but to do it while at home, knowing I COULD just get online -uhmmm, that might be a differnt story.
Excellent points, and well said. Having recently experienced our annual Internet-free, computer-free, almost phone-free month, I must say that it is refreshing! God's blessings on your break. May it refresh you as well!
I enjoyed your blog today. It's my first time here.
Last winter I was so tired and even blogging was something else on the to do list.
We had a computer crash around that time and our computer ended up being in the shop for over two months. The person who fixed it had a heart attack and didn't realize no one had let us know it was fixed until he returned to work.
I believe God set that up, I could only use my son's laptop once in awhile and a complete Net break turned out to be a good thing.
Although my readers didn't like it, I now have a laptop sent to me by a reader who didn't want to go months without me writing regularly!
I'll now have to use my own willpower. :)
However, I am in a season of writing since my homeschooled son is at the University. Besides my garden and the housework, there is nothing tugging away at the hours of the day (well... God time, of course).
My sentiments exactly ... unplugging with the "box" and plugging in with my family ... where there is more rest and peace and joy!
Wow! Well said, and so true...I have not been able to get on the internet for 10 days because I have just started a new school year (teaching) and am too busy... Some of my friends seem to think me rude. I tell them to give me a call so we can talk. Don't have Facebook, don't give my email to parents of students (I'd rather talk), and sometimes I feel weighted down by all the letters I have no time to read. Juls
first-timer here but wanted to chime in; I remember years ago (am I a dinosaur) way before all this connectedness (except the radio) listening to James Dobson (back then) talking about a woman who wanted to needlepoint a chair (or stool) cushion so she began to research (and research) and research (remember this was before - back in the day - oh,my, what would she do now?) till I don't know if she ever actually got it done - point he made - do you want to know about doing something or do you want to do it? Thanks
donna
"My plans for being a better mom are delayed by the desire to read more ideas on being a better mom. The fountain of overflowing knowledge is delightful, and also quite distracting."
This is me all over. I mean ALL OVER! I have so much head knowledge I'm bursting at the seams! I need to give it a break and use what I have already learned, in real life, so that my head can release some of the info and turn it into more than just "information", but true dedication. *Sigh*, why does it seem like it's so hard to let go of the good to work on the best?
Something I learned last week in church is this little phrase called "self-indulgence". Yea, ouch. That one hit me too.
I'm with you on this! I'm unplugging during the week, except for one day when I would like to participate in Ann Voskamp's "Walk With Him" series (which really inspires and challenges my walk with Him), and Word Filled Wednesday, which allows me to play a bit with my photography and blend it with the beauty of the Word of God.
No more hours of reading, and reading, and reading. It gives me a headache! LOL
Thank you for challenging me, even if you didn't know you did (or would). God knew! ;)
I wish that I could unplug, but my outside life revolves around this computer right now. Hopefully in a few months I will get to know more moms in my area and be able to contact them by phone. Might i just add that my daughter sleeps for 3 -4 hours a day for her naps so I do have some down time to play with the Internet. But I do also want to "divorce" no, separate myself from this computer / Internet. It would do me as a person and a mom well. But without it we would be on the phone with each other non stop. Your husband would get mad at me.
Good luck with the break and I hope you are able to get things accomplished.
I expect to read a great blog when you return. (by the way they are always great!)
Seester!
What a thoughtful and confirming post. Thanks for challenging others and especially for sharing that dynamic of how learning *ABOUT* being a good mom can actually sometimes keep us from *BEING* the good mom we long to be.
Blessings to you and yours as you rest.
~Jess
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