This year we spent the Christmas holiday at my inlaws’ house and had a very enjoyable time. They live in upstate NY and let me tell you, it’s waaaay up there! It’s amazing how different parts of the country can be so incredibly different. It’s like a completely different country up there. A country where hunting is a hobby that you are expected to have, you are used to driving a distance to a Walmart and you expect feet of snow at any time from October to May. I feel pretty out of place there. I hardly ever remember to bring an appropriate winter coat and I definitely don’t have northern country appropriate footwear. I also really enjoy having communication with the rest of the world.
It’s amazing how much you rely on modern technology. I feel so isolated and out of touch when I go visit. My cell phone stops working the last hour and a half of the trip and we don’t get service again until we go down a certain hill on the way home. They have basic basic cable so there is hardly ever anything interesting on TV, and there definitely isn’t a DVR to watch whatever background noise show you watch but aren’t really interested in. There also isn’t wireless and so the family computer is shared upstairs. Wow it’s really amazing what a difference these things make in your life.
On the other hand, we spend genuine time with each other. We play games and sit around talking to each other. Last night after Munchkie went to bed we played Cranium which had been purchased that day (on sale at Target of course!) and had a great time together. I haven’t laughed as hard in a long time as I did when Munchkie’s Uncle had to puppeteer Munchkie’s Daddy to make him guess that he was airport security. What fun family is.
I survived for those days without my cell phone, mindless TV shows and immediate internet access. Maybe I could survive a little more often without these and focus on doing something a little more active and meaningful. I need to overcome the thought that I might miss something by not being connected. What if someone tried to call and I missed it? Hey guess what, I have voicemail! What if I missed someone’s Facebook post that said something important? Hmmm was it really that critical for me to know if it was a general Facebook post? Maybe not. I hope that I can continue to be slightly more removed from the technology that is weighing me down and a little more active in what is happening in my present life.
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