What that meant for me: no phone, no television, no computer. But the phone was really the kicker.
Since my beautiful kiddo arrived it's sort of been an extra appendage more often than not. In the beginning, having it near was about safety and calming my new-mother nerves. Especially in those first few weeks while the hubby was back at work. I felt like, as long as it was within arm's reach, my husband, a friend, or--heaven forbid!--an ambulance, was only a phone call away.
Then, as the weeks went by, the phone was about comfort of a different kind. In the middle of the night--2 a.m., 3 a.m., 4:30 a.m.--whenever I was spooked in the process of hauling my booty across the house to sit in the dark, silence of the nursery and feed my sweet and hungry child, I would surf a celebrity gossip app and forget about the sounds I imagined or the shadows that freaked me out (and yes, to answer your question, I'm quite a scared-y cat for a grown woman!).
And of course, beyond the comfort the phone's provided on an ongoing basis, it's also been an absolute must, in order to document so many beautiful moments I enjoy sharing with family and friends who aren't here to witness for themselves.
But every so often, I wonder if it keeps me from focusing on being a present and focused mother.
So today, I decided to ban any use of it (or even any peeking at it) to see how I felt. And while I was at it, I banned my computer and the TV, just for good measure.
The results:
I'm happy to report that it didn't really make much of a difference at all!
Yay!!!
So perhaps I'm not a tech-addict, after all!
Now, to be fair, I don't think anybody who knows me very well could accuse me of being truly dependent upon technology to begin with.
I'm not on Facebook (I know, I know...I'm the last human being alive who isn't. Well, except for my hubby. We stand in solidarity!). I'm not on Twitter or Pinterest or Instagram. And it took me a lot of hemming and hawing before I was willing to commit to this blog.
But I do love to communicate with family and friends via text and e-mail. And for the last seven months, I've loved, loved, LOVED taking pictures of my kiddo and force-feeding them to those family and friends ;)
And I do love me some TV, too. Although perhaps less so than most during the day. Simply because I don't like a lot of noise. And let's face it: these days, computers are often just bigger phones for those of us who aren't doing anything more sophisticated than surfing.
Before the day started, I imagined it as some sort of cleanse to make me feel free and focused. But in reality, it seems as though I just made others feel a bit cut off. And let's face it--a day without fun pictures of a smiling baby just isn't the same!
I'm not sure if I'll give it another go next month, as I'd planned. But I'm glad I went through the exercise. And I would recommend it to others, as well. Because you never truly know what's become habit-forming or distracting until you remove it from the equation.
And in the end, it might just give you some peace of mind that all is good and balanced in your world.
Kinda like it did for me.
Happy Thursday, peeps!
(A pic from yesterday--I promise I didn't cheat!)
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