Change in Perspective

This weekend was a total NaBloPoMo fail.

I blame it on real life trumping cyber life.  Which is how it should be.

It’s easy for me to get caught up in the online universe and some parts of that are good:  keeping in touch with family and friends on Facebook, connecting with new friends I’ve met online by reading their blogs and following them on Twitter, finding new recipes to feed my family, challenging myself to be more authentic by blogging my feelings and ideas.

Other times, the cyber world is like quicksand.  It can choke the real life out of you and turn you into a social media zombie.  That’s what I want to avoid.

I don’t want to be checking my phone all the time or trying to keep up with some imaginary quota of Tweets and Facebook statuses.  I want to live my life and blog along the way to capture memories and journal my journey.

Not having my iPhone for over a week has been really good for me.  It broke my addictive habit and put things into perspective.  Even though I’m out $150 for the new one I picked up yesterday, I’m starting to think that price wasn’t too steep for the lesson I learned while I was without it.

Just like celebrities can get caught up in the imaginary reality that is fame, bloggers and social media butterflies can get caught up in the imaginary reality that is the internet.

I have no plans to trade in my technology for a horse and buggy, but I want to be mindful of the things that are important and eternal.

Grace will never be this little again, so I’m trying to relish every moment whether it be wiping her tears after a random tantrum about whatever it is she can’t communicate or memorizing the wide smile stretched across her face while she’s rocking on my old rocking horse.

Andy will never have this much free time again, so I want to soak up the little moments we have together since he’s home most of the time right now.  Snuggling on the couch without our phones is so much more meaningful than sitting a foot apart but miles away while independently reading online.

I’m going to pick up where I left off with tracking calories and exercise on my Loseit app, using the gps to get around town, FaceTimeing with mom and Ellen, capturing pictures and videos of Grace’s antics and Googleing the questions that come up throughout the day.

I’m not going to tether myself to the phone while real life is happening all around me.

That’s worth every cent of the $150.