Sorry if some of you have been waiting for my "Media-free Week" report. I will admit, there has been some catching up on Tivo, which BTW is one of the greatest inventions known to man. :)
Saturday night, we explained to the boys that we were not going to use screens for the week unless it was for business. (And to check to see if my nephew had been born yet.) The next morning, G. woke up at the crack of dawn and Andy suggested he watch a show. G. quickly said, "But I thought no screens, Dad." So I was impressed that given the chance, he stayed on track. Even though we didn't mean to tempt him!
When we got home from church, we played Uno as a family and luckily, already had a Johnson dinner planned. The boys had tons of fun with the cousins.
I have to say that the first few days were rather easy for the kids. Harder for me. I didn't even realize how much I rely on the computer. Online recipes, online banking, just checking in with my friends... So many moments I had to take a breath and find another way. And remind myself that I could post things on my blog sometime in the future. But I will admit, those old cookbooks are pretty inefficient! We played lots of games and read lots of books. We even made shrinky-dinks, remember those! I went to bed earlier and felt less rushed. Not sure I got more done though, because the media fast didn't really increase my motivation to get a ton done! LOL
A few days in, G. kept asking how much longer a week was and saying "Bishop Farley's idea isn't very fun..." But we got through it. G. has always needed me to entertain him, even when he was an infant, and since he can't read, he had to play more than A. Since the goal was family unity, we did use the internet for a project I have been meaning to do with G. for ages. He and I made a Superhero/Villain Alphabet book using google.com/images. Andy even joined in the fun, which was good because although I knew enough to come up with Charles Xavier for X, I needed help w/ Q, U, and Z. (Question, Underdog, and Zan from the Wonder twins...) And we ended up finding a picture of G. dressed up for "You" for Y. We had many to choose from! LOL (disclaimer: We did have to be careful when searching since it is amazing how inappropriate pictures can still pop up. Just in case you try this...)
2007- 2 yrs. oldI was amazed that we didn't have to do much to entertain the boys other than spend time with them, which we should do more of anyway. Who knew that throwing a ball with K. down the hallway would be so fun for him!?! So the week ended, and I have seen that my children have rediscovered their toys and have a greater balance in their lives. I had let them get pretty bad, going from one screen to another for entertainment, and trying to encourage them to do other things, but not liking to be the Bad Guy all the time. I think that we will do this when it gets out of balance again, though I will admit it was challenging.
Now the reason I chose the picture I did for this post is because of the absolutely best benefit. This picture shows how K. used to fall asleep at night. (Though wearing p.j.'s of course.) I hadn't won that "cry yourself to sleep" battle yet. And so, he and I would watch a show until he fell asleep every night. It was OK, because I learned this week that after getting the boys to bed, watching TV is EXACTLY what I want to do. Just veg, on the couch, seated. So I didn't mind, in fact, it was a perfect excuse. But when K. came up to me the first night and said, "Watch a show, Mommy," I had to tell him no. Had to. So we read 2 books each night, and put him in bed w/ his chosen blanket of the night and tucked him in like a big boy. And he did it. And now he does it every night. AWESOME!!! So if this was the only benefit, it was worth it to me. AWESOME!
I did feel bad for Andy because he was sick this week and just wanted to be sick and watch TV, but alas, he couldn't. I am glad to be back connected, but do have a new perspective. And I am grateful my kids do too. And I am glad I live in this time. What blessings we have. But we must still be wise stewards of our time. It is a never ending challenge to be balanced, but if our families are really the most important, they do deserve more time than the "Screens".
(Now, my brother asked about Koester's Mother Earth Experiment mentioned in the last post. When I was in ninth grade, my biology teacher made us carry around black trash bags to collect all our garbage for a week. We were only allowed to throw away toilet paper and feminine products. All food, pencil sharpenings, etc. went into the bag. Then we sorted through it on the last day to determine what part of our garbage was recyclable or biodegradable. I am not going to lie, it was smelly and gross. But it also changed how I think of throwing things "away" and has made me a little more aware of what I can use more wisely.)