Turn it On and Turn it Off

Juggling. Women of today, more than yesterday, have become masters of the juggling art. Relationships, motherhood, and friendships take work and love. Careers take energy, focus, time, passion, and commitment. 

And I haven't even touched on the personal maintenance yet.  You know, those little things that you try to do to preserve your own mental sanity.  Those little moments that should be at least an hour or two, but usually end up being five or ten minutes here and there. We've all been there, no?

I am a teacher. A teacher, a writer, a director, and a playwright. 

I am a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend, a best friend, a granddaughter, a cousin, and a godmother.

I am so many things, and sometimes I have trouble juggling.  Sometimes, I drop the ball. Sometimes, I cannot do it all, and that's ok.

This past summer I went on vacation.  I went on a cruise in the Eastern Caribbean with my entire family. It was wonderful to spend time with my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and brother. Absolutely wonderful. Do you know what one of my favorite parts of the trip was?

No cell phone service.

Let me say that gain, we had no cell phone service.

None.   

No phone calls, no texting, no Facebook, no Twitter, no blogging, no emails...NOTHING.

And you know what? It was fabulous.  We talked to each other. We listened to each other. We enjoyed each other.  All without outside communication interference.  That trip will be burned in my memories even more so because of the fact that we all had to turn it off.

It's so important to know when to turn it on and when to turn it off.  How many times have you been in the middle of a conversation and the person you are talking to is simultaneously checking their emails, text messages, tweets, and/or Facebook posts at the same time? I know I've been in that situation more times than I care to count. I've been the person who's trying to tell a story, and, I'm afraid to say, I've also been that person who just was so obsessed about sending that email or maintaining a social media page that I too have been guilty of talking while doing SOMETHING on my phone.  I'm not proud, but it's true.

But, if it's one thing that this cruise has taught me, is that it's so important to know when to turn it on and off. If you're at a birthday party, a religious event, a celebration of any kind, stop trying to get the perfect picture to put on Instagram and/or Facebook.  Step away from the phone and actually enjoy the party.

When you're having a meal with someone, let the notifications, the emails, and the text messages come in, but don't you dare pick up the phone until you're done eating.

I could go on and on forever, but the bottom line is thus, with the amount of social media and technology that is out nowadays, it seems like the general public is actually forgetting how to talk to each other, and that’s a scary thought.

So please be sure to understand that just as it’s important to know how to turn it on, it’s equally as important to know when to turn it off.