unwired

Sarah Mae's 14 day unwired challenge is a very timely one for me.  I seem to always struggle with time spent on the internet....whether it's my desktop, tiny old laptop, or my iPhone.  This time increased dramatically during my pregnancy (tired, nauseous, just plain uncomfortable) and even more now that I'm nursing my 6 week old. 

I've done a couple of media fasts in the past (one for a week, another for a few days, and then other variations here and there) and always enjoy my time "away", but just like any other addiction or bad habit, it's easy to fall right back into your old pattern.  I did take the step, before Virgil was born, to delete all of the games off of my phone....and there were only a couple...words with friends and solitaire.  I banned myself from Candy Crush after a couple of days of obsessiveness!

I have a dear friend doing this challenge along with me, and we both look forward to the changes that are hopefully to come in our homes!  I really hope to be able to reconnect with my kids....my oldest, especially.  She needs to see me make her a priority and to show her that she is important to me and worth my time.  They also need to see me lead by example instead of a "do what I say, not what I do" type of parenting.  We severely limit their time with electronics.....neither of my girls have regular time to play on the computer or with their devices (Macie has a Kindle Fire HD and Leapster, and Emery has an iPod Touch full of games and a LeapPad).  They are almost always limited to long car rides or very short amounts of time.  Why should I not show them that I limit my time also, since I spend so much time telling them that too much time devoted to games and "devices" is bad for you?

As far as the challenge went today, it was a bit of a bust, but I had to start somewhere, right?  I didn't get 20 minutes of one on one time with each of the kids, but I did get time to focus on Emery and watch her play while I nursed Virgil at Macie's soccer practice, and we spent extra time at bedtime reading a book that Macie had chosen at bedtime.  Sadly, those two things alone are more that they would normally get, attention wise, from me. 

I'm thankful that there are women willing to admit their struggles, women that I can walk along this path with, and ones who are willing to hold me accountable when I just don't want to change.