Unplugged
"That's it!" I said one morning. "Today we are going to be unplugged."What does that mean??? the kids asked...no ipods, no tv, no laptop, no radioand no cell phones. YIKES... they thought. Off to school they went. When theygot home they put up their stuff got a snack then asked me to take them to thepark to play a mean game of tether-ball. I brought my camera and was playingaround with some different settings that I learned in my photo class. Thelaughter was contagious. Not only did their joy infect me, but a couple littlekids on the playground just sat there staring and smiling at my kids for a longtime.[gallery]
Once they wore each other out we headed back home and they got out the basketball.We played around with some shooting and got excited when our neighbor and herdog showed up. Now I had a playmate as did Lucy (our dog). The kids visitedsome more and played some more. Then came our other neighbor and her dog. Nowwe had 5 people, 3 dogs and lots of fun going on. Usually you find our streetsquiet around dinner time, but today we had unplugged it all and with thatsimple act we had the ripple effect of joy.The dogs ran until they were pooped. The kids played until they were sweaty andthirsty and I visited until the dinner bell rang. When Robert drove up, hementioned how great it was to pull in and see us all outside enjoying the day.We all made a delicious dinner and enjoyed long slow conversations. No one wasrushing to check emails or text messages. No tv on in the background (actually,we never have the tv on during dinner, but it sounds more dramatic when I addit here, right? haha). We spent the evening catching up and loving every minuteof it.I sometimes find myself feeling panicked that the kids are growing up so fast.Soon Madi will be in high school. Not far after they'll both be heading out ontheir own. Our dinner times are limited. Our going-to-the-park days arenumbered. Sometimes in the busy chaos of it all, it just seems easier to let itall go...but THIS day, it was with purpose and intentionality that I pressedthe pause button and chose to hold off the world beckoning them throughelectronics... I called them back to our center base... With open arms and openhearts and turned off phones and logged off ipods we spent time together.We decided we need to get back to family nights again. I am not sure when we gotaway from them, but all of the sudden it seems very important to bring themback. That night we started planning on what games we would play, and makingplans to slow it all down and unplug from the race. Just for a moment. Just forTHIS moment...while we can.