Thursday our daddy was off work and we decided to go to Silver Dollar City (we have season passes) before all the local schools got out for the summer and it got really busy. So we were gone all day that day and I didn't have time to get online, but I had an absolute wonderful day with my real life family!
Friday we spent picking up tables from my Dad's for a garage sale on Saturday, then we went to a nearby town to pick up our raw milk and the rest of the day was spent at my sister's getting ready for our garage sale. Friday evening we had fellowship, our weekly bible study group with several other families from our church. So once again, no time to get online, instead I spent time with real life people and lived my real life.
Saturday was, you guessed it, our garage sale day which took up the entire day. I was completely worn out by the time we got home, so my wonderful oldest son offered to take us all out to eat in honor of Mother's Day! We had a wonderful dinner, but alas, no time this day to get online either. However, I was not at all upset by this, I was again enjoying my real life family.
Sunday was Mother's Day, spent at church until just after noon. We had invited some families over for the evening to roast some hot dogs and make some homemade ice cream, but our home needed some attention after being so busy the last few days. We spent the afternoon just picking up and preparing for our friends and then had a wonderful evening of fellowship. Obviously, I didn't take time to get online this day either, but I usually don't get online on Sundays. I feel I should have a day of rest without the computer.
Monday we spent helping my father and stepmom. You see my stepmom contracted meningitis from a tick and was in the hospital since Thursday. Dad had been trying to take care of the farm and drive about 45 minutes (each way) to the hospital everyday to be with her. So we went to his place to mow, weedeat, weed their garden and clean their house for them. We also found out while there she would be coming home the next day, so it was perfect timing. After taking care of them, we came home to get a few chores of our own done. I did, however, find some time to get online and check my emails and such, but only after taking care of my real life family.
Do you want to know what really got me thinking about writing this post? When I checked my email Monday, I had an email from Saturday morning saying I had won a giveaway I had entered several days before. I was so excited and emailed the person with my info, only to receive an email back saying that because I had not responded sooner, she gave the prize to someone else. To be quite honest, I was extremely disappointed at first, but then I realized something. I had chosen the more important thing the last several days and I could not be upset about that. I had chosen to actually live and spend time in my real world instead of living online. I had chosen my real friends and family instead of my online friends, and that was more important. I don't tell you this for sympathy or for any reason other than to encourage you to choose the greater thing and not worry about what the online world thinks.
I encourage you to spend time in your real world, with the real people that are around you and let your online friends just wait until you have some free time. Do you know what, I will still be here when you get back. Unless of course I am gone spending time with my real family too! If that is the case, we will just read each other's post and comments when we can and know that we will respond when we have time. That is okay, that is the way it should be. We should never be concerned with having to check our email each day or post on our blog each day, lest someone get upset that we are slacking. It isn't slacking, it's called LIVING.
So, I encourage each of you to live offline. I'll be here when you get back.
PS- If your computer is just too easy to access several times during the day to do a "quick check", then by all means turn the beast off. You will be less likely to just "jump on for a minute" if you have to turn it on every time.
Blessings,
Rashel
What a wonderful challenge, Rashel! Thanks for this post. :)
ReplyDelete