Happy New Year! Cannot believe that the new year has begun and the holidays are behind us. As they say “all good things must come to an end”, however, we are sad that it is over. We can confidently say that we had an amazing holiday break (which makes us wish all the more that it didn’t have to end).
We spent the week visiting with family and friends. We ate and drank too much. We spoiled our fur baby. We logged more hours in front of the television watching Christmas movies than we would like to admit. We had a couple of great date nights (New Years Eve dinner was a special favorite from the week). All in all it was the perfectly imperfect holiday week! And the best part, believe it or not, was the break we took from our phones and more importantly social media.
In general, our rule of thumb when we are out is the only time our phones are present is because either – 1] an important work email needs to be responded to – or – 2] there is a photo or text that we want to share with one another – or – 3] one of us needs to use the restroom and the other is sitting there alone (and on their phone). Otherwise we actually communicate and enjoy one another…phoneless.
We’ve all seen those couples who are at a restaurant and seem to have zero conversation because they are so busy zoning in on their phones. We have vowed to not become those people. Honestly, what’s the point of spending time together if you’re just going to have your nose buried in your phone?
We read a quote recently that said to surround yourself with people who make you forget to look at your phone. There are so many instances where other than taking a photo we honestly don’t look at our phones. And then when we finally glance down there are missed calls, texts, emails, etc. Ultimately guilt sets in that we were having such a great time that we neglected the other VIP’s in our lives. It shouldn’t have to be like that.
So, for our holiday break, we decided to skip it all. No Facebook, Instagram, Twitter…nothing! It was actually refreshing to not always be looking at that screen. To ignore the notifications of who liked, commented or posted. And in turn to not like, comment or post in response was uplifting. Truly living in the moment and not capturing it with photos and words for family/friends/followers was a nice change of pace.
Now the holidays have come to an end. The decorations are packed away for another year. Wistful dreams of the magic that surrounded us last week fill our heads. Promises to eat healthier and exercise more. Setting personal goals. Establishing professional objectives. Looking ahead to a prosperous new year. Getting back into our daily routines.
And of course with that comes the return to social media.
Here is a New Years challenge for us all —– set time, personal time, any time —– for loved ones where there is no social media. No phones. No photos. No comments. No likes. Maybe not for an entire week but how about small blocks of time that are just for us to be in the moment and appreciate all we have that isn’t social media.
Happy New Year!
D & C
Mt. Esty Manor 