This past weekend I disconnected. I was “out of pocket“, I “went dark“, I was “incommunicado“.
No phone calls
No Facebook
No new blog posts
No TV
No texting
No Superbowl
From your end, there were no notes expressing concern, no flowers, and no meals brought to the house. Just sayin’.
Don’t panic – I am fine. This was a good thing. This was one of those weekends that needed – nay DESERVED – my full attention. It was a weekend that involved temple endowments for two of my children, and a milestone birthday for my EC. Simply put, it was one of the more important weekends of my life, and I wasn’t about to miss it by staring at pixels. Wonderful, yet personal enough that it’s not for sharing. However, some thoughts did come out of it that I will share.
Two of my kids are of marrying age, and one is getting ready to leave on a mission shortly. Every time we manage a family get together, we are painfully aware that this might be the last time we are together as our little family of seven. MIssionaries will depart, young couples will marry and move away, getting time off work can be difficult, and things will change. So far, we have still managed to find ways to be together, but the inevitable day is looming… So we skipped town to guarantee our uninterrupted time. It was a good choice.
I have been blessed with an amazing eternal companion who makes my life so meaningful, and gives me so much joy. There is such a degree of implicit love, understanding and togetherness in an eternal marriage, that it is just part of who we are and what we do. But I know that it needs to be expressed. Not just by my words and my actions, but by my focus. I need to look in her eyes when she talks to me. I need to be quicker to hit the pause button, or better yet, the power button. I need to call her more and text her less. Far too often my focus is on the screen in front of me – whether it be a TV, phone or a computer. I can do better.
Skipping the Superbowl and turning off the tech was no big deal, but it was a sincere effort to restore my gaze to where it be focused: On the eyes of my wife and children.
What a great weekend.
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I was the first to marry into my husband’s family, and it sure was annoying when my MIL would take photos with just the original 5 kids. It was like, oh here we are at the St. Louis arch, just like when the kids were small, lets take another picture. I kind of felt left out.
What a wonderful weekend. The kind of joy in that absolutely cannot be replaced, but it’s surprisingly easy to miss when it’s right in front of you. Wonderful post.
JWW
It actually gets better, Children-in-law, grandkids, new family connections. Yeah!
I don’t miss just having our originals one bit.
Some rare evenings my EC and I actually find ourselves home alone together!! That’s really great! But kind of quiet. So we’re eventually going to have to go on a mission or something.
THIS is the reason I continue to be a MMM reader! What a good husband!
I admire your diligence. I think a weekend like yours sounds calls for undivided attention.
I, on the other hand, spent the entire Superbowl on my computer talking to my friends about each and every commercial or play. And in between playing WWF with all the other family members in my house.
And yes, I do realize how pathetic that sounds.
wonderful! Happy bday EC!
Hooray for awesome weekends like that! MIne was spent in “the real world” and I didn’t get online at all, either. Its quite liberating. 🙂
Congratulations! You were missed but were in the right place both literally and figuratively.
Sounds like a lovely weekend! Congrats on the endowments! And happy birthday to the most saintly woman I never met!
Beautiful, MMM. It sounds like one of those weekends to always remember! 🙂
Wait…the Superbowl was this weekend?
Congrats on all accounts.
Although I love your blog posts and am addicted to Facebook, I totally agree with your analysis.
My husband was in the hospital last week and I am so grateful he is back home. Our daughter summed it up really well. She said she thought the most stress she would have on Sunday was how to do her hair – not if someone she loved was going to die.
This made me realize that life can move really fast and we need to make sure our priorities are in line with God’s priorities for us.
Good for you! We sometimes as a family forget about our together time until it is too late. Your family is blessed to have you, and you them!
I’m preparing dinner to take to a friend and I’d be happy to send some your way, but you won’t tell us where you live. Too bad 🙂
Temple endowments are definitely worth no phone/Facebook/blog posts/tv and I’m sure this weekend will be one of your top memories forever. Taking full advantage of the opportunity to spend time with your family just shows how smart and wise you are!
good job i’m sure I would explode if I tried to go internet TV free for a week