You Got Joy!

Helping you find YOUR Joy

Unplugged

by

“That’s it!” I said one morning. “Today we are going to be unplugged.”
What does that mean??? the kids asked…no ipods, no tv, no laptop, no radio
and no cell phones. YIKES… they thought. Off to school they went. When they
got home they put up their stuff got a snack then asked me to take them to the
park to play a mean game of tether-ball. I brought my camera and was playing
around with some different settings that I learned in my photo class. The
laughter was contagious. Not only did their joy infect me, but a couple little
kids on the playground just sat there staring and smiling at my kids for a long
time.

Once they wore each other out we headed back home and they got out the basketball.
We played around with some shooting and got excited when our neighbor and her
dog showed up. Now I had a playmate as did Lucy (our dog). The kids visited
some more and played some more. Then came our other neighbor and her dog. Now
we had 5 people, 3 dogs and lots of fun going on. Usually you find our streets
quiet around dinner time, but today we had unplugged it all and with that
simple act we had the ripple effect of joy.

The dogs ran until they were pooped. The kids played until they were sweaty and
thirsty and I visited until the dinner bell rang. When Robert drove up, he
mentioned how great it was to pull in and see us all outside enjoying the day.
We all made a delicious dinner and enjoyed long slow conversations. No one was
rushing to check emails or text messages. No tv on in the background (actually,
we never have the tv on during dinner, but it sounds more dramatic when I add
it here, right? haha). We spent the evening catching up and loving every minute
of it.

I sometimes find myself feeling panicked that the kids are growing up so fast.
Soon Madi will be in high school. Not far after they’ll both be heading out on
their own. Our dinner times are limited. Our going-to-the-park days are
numbered. Sometimes in the busy chaos of it all, it just seems easier to let it
all go…but THIS day, it was with purpose and intentionality that I pressed
the pause button and chose to hold off the world beckoning them through
electronics… I called them back to our center base… With open arms and open
hearts and turned off phones and logged off ipods we spent time together.
We decided we need to get back to family nights again. I am not sure when we got
away from them, but all of the sudden it seems very important to bring them
back. That night we started planning on what games we would play, and making
plans to slow it all down and unplug from the race. Just for a moment. Just for
THIS moment…while we can.