I love my computer. I love the things that I can do on my computer. Technology amazes me, and I don't understand a lot of it, but I love it. My children watch me. They watch how much time I spend on the computer and they both love to play on the computer themselves. With Aaron, when he first got interested in the computer, we gave him an old broken keyboard to play with, then later we would just let him type on a word document. We'd put up a large, fun, colorful font and just let him type for fun. Then as he got older we moved up to starfall which is a great learning program. Now Brian loves starfall too. He's too little to move the mouse or touchpad, but he loves to watch us do it and even will sit and watch Aaron play on it.
They both are mesmerised. I feel as though I can already start to relate to my friends with teenagers who worry if their children are spending too much time on-line.
Likewise, I feel as though I probably spend too much time on-line. I love all of Google's products. Gmail, Google Reader, Google Calendar, Google Documents, Google Maps, etc. It is very addicting...checking to see who has updated their blogs...checking to see who has sent me e-mail...checking to see who has played me on facebook in the latest scrabble game. There are lots of legitimate reasons for me to be on-line too. My work as an environmental consultant, helping my mom sort out the medical insurance bills from my dad's last year, my job as a baby sign language instructor, paying bills, etc. but I feel as though sometimes I sit here in front of my laptop too much. Do you ever feel that way?
In April, our church had what is called General Conference. Twice a year the leaders of our church speak from Salt Lake City, Utah to give us counsel, advice and doctrine. Elder Ballard, one of the Twelve Apostles, gave a great talk about women and spoke to the mothers of young children in particular. Part of what he said was a wake-up call to me.
"Third, even as you try to cut out the extra commitments, sisters, find some time for yourself to cultivate your gifts and interests. Pick one or two things that you would like to learn or do that will enrich your life, and make time for them. Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children. Avoid any kind of substance abuse, mistakenly thinking that it will help you accomplish more. And don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet. Turn to the Lord in faith, and you will know what to do and how to do it."
That last line about not being "caught up in time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet" was directed right at me for sure. I'll admit...I watch soaps. I have 4 soaps that I've watched for years. I now try not to watch any of them during the day, but I set my DVR to record 2 of them and I have one or two story lines on each show that I watch and fast-forward through the rest. I often wait 3 days or so and watch 6 hours of programing in about 1 hour. Does this qualify as being caught up in time-wasting behavior? What about checking to see who has commented on my blog? Is that a waste of time? I am trying to be more conscious of my time...not having the TV on...not playing on-line as often...reading more and checking on-line less. Hopefully it'll make me a better mom and a better person. I'll let you know!
They both are mesmerised. I feel as though I can already start to relate to my friends with teenagers who worry if their children are spending too much time on-line.
Likewise, I feel as though I probably spend too much time on-line. I love all of Google's products. Gmail, Google Reader, Google Calendar, Google Documents, Google Maps, etc. It is very addicting...checking to see who has updated their blogs...checking to see who has sent me e-mail...checking to see who has played me on facebook in the latest scrabble game. There are lots of legitimate reasons for me to be on-line too. My work as an environmental consultant, helping my mom sort out the medical insurance bills from my dad's last year, my job as a baby sign language instructor, paying bills, etc. but I feel as though sometimes I sit here in front of my laptop too much. Do you ever feel that way?
In April, our church had what is called General Conference. Twice a year the leaders of our church speak from Salt Lake City, Utah to give us counsel, advice and doctrine. Elder Ballard, one of the Twelve Apostles, gave a great talk about women and spoke to the mothers of young children in particular. Part of what he said was a wake-up call to me.
"Third, even as you try to cut out the extra commitments, sisters, find some time for yourself to cultivate your gifts and interests. Pick one or two things that you would like to learn or do that will enrich your life, and make time for them. Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children. Avoid any kind of substance abuse, mistakenly thinking that it will help you accomplish more. And don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet. Turn to the Lord in faith, and you will know what to do and how to do it."
That last line about not being "caught up in time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet" was directed right at me for sure. I'll admit...I watch soaps. I have 4 soaps that I've watched for years. I now try not to watch any of them during the day, but I set my DVR to record 2 of them and I have one or two story lines on each show that I watch and fast-forward through the rest. I often wait 3 days or so and watch 6 hours of programing in about 1 hour. Does this qualify as being caught up in time-wasting behavior? What about checking to see who has commented on my blog? Is that a waste of time? I am trying to be more conscious of my time...not having the TV on...not playing on-line as often...reading more and checking on-line less. Hopefully it'll make me a better mom and a better person. I'll let you know!
5 comments:
Hi Jen! Obviously I'm also a little obsessed with blogging and spending time online. I also heard Elder Ballard's talk as a wake up call about cutting back on my computer time. I don't think it's bad to spend time online, but I know there are things that are a much better use of my time (like paying attention to my kids- NOW I feel guilty!!).
Pete also loves Starfall.com- great site! I also wanted to tell you that I think you have great hair-cutting skills! I've always cut Wade's and the boys hair and recently decided to opt for the easy way out and just give them a buzz each time. It saves me some stress, and works well for the summer, but I'm not looking forward to when my boys request their hair cut in the latest style. I'll be in trouble then!
Ha! Yes, I am sitting here, nodding my head in agreement as I indulge in...the internet! :) I have felt the same way a lot lately...and was positive Elder Ballard's remarks were SO meant for me. I am trying really hard to cut back on my online time. Something I've found that helps is to limit it to specific times of the day. For instance, my girls take a nap right after lunch and I sit on the floor in Haleigh & Brooklyn's room until they fall asleep. I have gotten into the habit of taking the laptop in with me and indulging in my online addictions while I'm at it...blogging, facebook, email, "window" shopping, etc. It takes the girls about 30 minutes or so to stop wiggling around and actually fall asleep, so that's my 30 minutes of guilty pleasure and then I put it away for a while. Then Warren and I usually surf the net together for another half hour or so after the girls go down for the night. It's fun, it's addicting, and oh-so-hard to resist sometimes! Let me know if you come up with any great tips on how to cut back!!
I don't think that my comments are a waste of time. Am I wasting time commenting? hehe. I'm just kidding
Hi Jen,
We are so sorry to hear about your Dad. He was a big part of all of our lives for a long time and he really helped so many of us (goofy single's that we were-we needed lots of help:D). Please give our love to your mom, we hope she's doing well. We have lots of fond memories of your parents and the fun we had at their house.
I can't believe how big your little boys are! They are so adorable! I think Brian looks so much like you! You are a cute little family!
I'm so glad you found us!!
Hey Jen, I think the key is moderation in all things. The bad thing about the computer is I always lose how much time I've been on it. When I give myself a time limit I feel good about it. Another thing I do is make sure I've done other things first that I feel good about then the computer is like my 'reward' time. I know how you feel though. It's addictive!
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