Success & Failure: Weeks 1 & 2

If you haven't been tuning in to my previous posts, I'll quickly update you--this is freaking hard. I've been off of FaceBook for nine full days. I nixed Netflix/TV/Movies for the full seven days of week one. Then came the "turn off the phone" week, which is in progress. Before going down the road with week two, let's talk about week one.

I unplugged. Literally. I took the power strip containing the cords for our television, DVD player, and Roku (to play Netflix), and hid it in our entertainment center. When the boys awoke on day one, they were baffled. Where were the remotes? Where was the special red button? Why didn't the TV do anything when the buttons were pushed? Lots of running and pointing to the screen followed by shouts of "Caillou! Big, Big Friends! Gabba! BA!BA!BA!" followed. But nothing happened. One young child even went so far to bang on the screen while dramatically falling to his knees, throwing his head back, and producing enough tears to fill a swimming pool. All over a 24 inch box that displayed colorful creatures singing and dancing and teaching life lessons. Their world was shattered. And I had shattered it purposefully.

But the pool dried up and distractions surmounted to a point where life went on. Once reality set in, life got a bit easier. Kids stopped begging as much. Dramatic monologues ceased. Play happened. And I survived without my free on-call 24/7 babysitter despite my dramatic monologues that came and went. I have to say, though, that this week was only made possible by a generous gift from Mother Nature. You see, we've been in 100 degree weather for months with no end in sight. All of a sudden, the weather dipped to a cool 80 degrees during the day and a chilly mid-60's at night. Thus, we were actually able to play outside all day every day. Parks were frequented. Fields were run through. And non-air conditioned air was breathed. I think these kids were just so happy to be outside without turning beat red within a minute of opening the door that TV was finally over-ruled.

Frankly, this is how it should be for kids (and the rest of us). When we can enjoy being outside, there is little else we need to entertain us. So we succeeded for week one. I even got through The Hubs' first 24 hour shift without the aid of Netlfix, which is saying a lot because that's how I fall asleep when he's not home 98% of the time. Although we won this first mini-challenge, we still decided to keep TV in the form of Netflix and movies in our lives. I got rid of the converter box about a month ago, so even if we wanted to watch normal programming, we wouldn't be able to. The benefit of this is that we can avoid ALL commercials. It's worth spending $8/month for Netflix when you know your child is only watching a single show with no added advertising. Plus, since there are no commercials, shows are shorter. Instead of sitting in front of the boob tube for a full thirty minutes, we get to sneak past children by saying they are allowed one show. Finally, The Hubs and I get to use Netflix for snuggle/relax time. It's cheaper than going to the movies, and we can pause when we want to grab a snack or pee. To us, Netflix is worth every penny of that eight bucks we spend monthly. However, we now also know that if we had to get rid of it, we could survive...as long as the weather also cooperates.

As week one was a great success, that brings us into the throws of week two: get rid of the trusty phone. Let me just say that we are two days in, and it's already an epic fail. I was ready for this challenge. I didn't think I used my phone that much. I've certainly lived without texting, so that wouldn't be a problem. And then life happened to prove otherwise. The first day of the week, little man K walked right off the trampoline...and fell straight onto his head, forcing his neck to wrench ninety degrees to allow his body to fall rather than stay in headstand position. Needless to say, I was panic stricken at first. I cooled off once I realized he didn't seem badly hurt. He walked fine, stopped crying, and even wanted back up on that ol' trampoline. I watched and waited. When he would sporadically keep losing his balance and have to sit for a minute or two and his eyes jutted back and forth for a second, I knew it was time to head to the ER. This is where the phone comes in. Daddy (aka The Hubs) was at work, but thankfully I got a hold of him to ask for his EMT expertise. Was I overreacting? Do we need to go? Do I call 911? Thankfully, he's trained to be cool and collected in these situations because I was surely not. After some short deliberation, we decided he needed to go. Phone in hand, we headed to the ER with the pediatric ward. Daddy got to stay in touch via text along with relatives who had to step in to care for Big Bro. Gratefully, he only came out of the ordeal with a sprained neck. And I had to admit failure for day one.

Day two emerged looking bright. I had forgotten to turn my phone off as I use it instead of an actual clock. Big mistake. It rang and buzzed and beckoned to be tended to. I obliged. In my haste of no phone week, I forgot about the numerous commitments I made the week prior--all requiring me to be call-capable. Crap. I caved in and responded to these semi-urgent matters. And then it hit me. Is this challenge even possible? I'm sure people are out there sans phone. But what about those of us who do a lot of business and connecting through a phone? In the midst of this thought cloud, it became abundantly clear that, generally speaking, I only use my phone for "important" matters, like if I need to contact a relative about babysitting or touching base with a person I have a later appointment with. Oh yeah, and to deal with emergency situations like the one above. I do use my phone to talk to The Hubs when he's working a 24 or to my mom when we just want to bitch about our days, but those, to me, are real, human connections. You can hear emotions without having to assume a tone of someone's words. I'm often amazed at how I can feel supported by just talking to someone without having to be physically near them. There's something about the typed word that can't fill that void the way the sound of a voice can.

And this is where I am conflicted, dear readers. Do I continue to try and go phone free? If you have done it, how did you do it? Suggestions are GREATLY appreciated as day three quickly approaches, and my to-do list is filled with agencies to call.