TOO MUCH TECHNOLOGY ...

Sometimes this rectangular piece of equipment drives me nuts. Like when the same Disney shows are shown over and over again. A mom like me can get tired of watching Hannah Montana get a speeding ticket ... ugh.

Sometimes I think I hear beeps, chirps, and other various sounds in my sleep. During the daytime hours, those sounds most likely come from the handy dandy 24/7 mini-computer/phone/ texting device. I remember when I didn't own one, or didn't hardly use it except for emergencies ;)

Sometimes this magnetic screen sucks me and other family members into it for countless hours (over the course of a day). The lovely machine with an apple on it is oh so delicious. However, one can devour it for all of its entertaining value, and never really fill up. CURSE that APPLE!

The machines (today's technology) are awesome. They entertain, they connect you with the world, and they provide information. I also love them because when I am feeling needy, they are there to comfort me.

BUT!

Sometimes they rip away hours of my day.

Sometimes they turn my good mood into an angry one.

Sometimes they also make me sad, stressed, nervous, tired, and frustrated.

WHICH leads me up to an idea that I got from Greg Willits ("The Catholics Next Door"). Over the last few months he and his lovely wife Jennifer have started a new Sunday tradition called "tech-free Sunday". They don't use computers, television, cell phones, video games, etc. Basically, they live like someone would have BEFORE TELEVISION. They just hang with their children, go to Church, and do a little bit of this and that around the house.

When I first heard about "tech-free Sunday", I thought it sounded wonderful, but potentially HARD. My children might drive me crazy with whining ... "I have nothing to do". My husband might slip up and use that iphone to check his football games. I myself might walk past the computer thinking that I just need to check one thing. IT'S always ONE THING ...LOL!

So we tried it this past weekend.

How did it go?

Well, I woke up at 6:30am ... knowing that it was the very first Sunday that I was teaching religious ed. to the 5th graders at our PRE program at Church. The start of that is 9:10am. So, when I woke up I made my coffee. The house was silent ... ahhhhhh, just lovely. For a quick second, I thought I could sneak on that computer and nobody would even know. However, I remained strong. I took my coffee and the Sunday paper that sat outside my front door. It was a glorious QUIET. I drank my coffee and read the paper.

40 minutes passed and the dogs woke up, the children came down, and I needed to pull that husband of mine out of bed. He got up and got his coffee while I showered, dressed, ate breakfast, and helped my girls get ready for Sunday school. I then grabbed all of my stuff and took 4 girls to Church, taught class, and then met my husband and littlest one at Church for 10:30am mass.

We went to MASS, then we followed it with a little snack at Panera Bread.

So far so good ...

THEN, we came home. The house needed a clean up. We changed out of our Church clothes. Daddy fixed a toilet, Mommy did a laundry load, girls did their chores. It was going pretty well. We all kept busy ... playing, cleaning a little, baking chocolate chip cookies, preparing Chicken and Biscuits (YUM ... I'll have to share this recipe later), and just hangin' out.

Daddy cheated a little. He NEEDED to catch up on some work and he WANTED to watch a little football while he did it. UGH ... that DADDY!

OVERALL, I really think the day was a good one.

On a normal weekend, I will admit that sometimes it stresses me out to see my girls being couch potatoes. This is just a weekend thing though. During the school year, we have a no TV rule during the M-Thursday time. TV might go on for an hour while I cook dinner and later at night, but that is it. It makes me sad when my older daughter gets on the computer ... that's when I see a little bit of addiction starting (like mother, like daughter). It frustrates me when my house on the weekend looks like a complete MESS. Some chores are meant for weekend time and when they don't get done, I GO A LITTLE NUTTY.

I really liked that there wasn't the extra "noise" of wanting, needing, watching, listening, and talking on all those TECHNOLOGICAL TOYS! I felt CALMER. When you go, go, GO like me all the time, it's just SO NICE to feel less anxiety.

THIS COULD WORK.

All except for our DAD.

You see, it is FOOTBALL SEASON.

THIS DADDY of ours lives with a house of girls who SWIM.

THIS DADDY NEEDS his FOOTBALL.

I LOVE THIS MAN.

SO ...

we may need to make adjustments.

Tech-free Saturday perhaps?