Tech Free Trip

Oh, happy little blog...how I've missed you!  It's been nearly a week since my last post.  Being on vacation, there's certainly been several joys to share but we were on a Tech-Free Retreat.  I'm actually still on vacation but home from the lake so the technology ban has officially been lifted!  So of course one of the first things I wanted to do was write a new post.

Before leaving, we made the agreement to keep the laptops at the house, turn the phones off, and disconnect to reconnect with each other.  Since I have instant access to work email through my phone, I wanted to make the promise that I wouldn't talk, text, or check my messages.  Just one little peek can lead to several minutes, to an hour (or more) stolen from the family.  Tim can be just as distracted both with work calls and the fire department.  With the added workload of building the station, his position as Chief for a volunteer department has quickly become a full-time job, in addition to the one he gets a paycheck from!  And then there's Noah, a typical preteen, with a cell phone permanently attached as an extra appendage.  Would it be possible for this tech-heavy modern family to disconnect?...I'm proud to say it was! 

What I didn't expect was how easy it was to do, even if the area helped us out a bit.  I knew we were staying in a remote location, being that our GPS couldn't guide us there, but I was surprised at the lack of signal and internet strength.  In the beginning, it was a bit frustrating because my smart phone wasn't so smart when it couldn't keep a signal to search for area restaurants or other travel needs.  We had to rely on (gasp)...real, live people and our own exploration skills to discover things to do.

Our first day in the boat we realized that nobody brought a phone, which worried me a bit in the event we had any trouble.  I was pleasantly surprised we all forgot to bring one though!  Tim's phone went dead from not being used and neglecting to charge it.  Noah used his phone just a few times at our cabin, never bringing it with us anywhere we went.  I did have mine with me most of the trip but it was because I like the convenience of using it's camera.  It was easy for me to click a few pictures and tuck it back inside the waterproof box when on the boat. 

I'll also confess that I did occasionally break the rules and plug in but only when my family was sleeping.  When you're awake in the middle of the night and sharing a room with the family, the phone is the quieter alternative to the tv or a lamp and book.  And I did share a few pics and posts on Facebook, mostly for my mom who was house sitting and living vicariously through our trip.  Perhaps I'm just good at making excuses but I really did try and I did not let the phone steal any time away from the family or our vacation.  It was a good experience and a lesson to carry over back into real life. 

While it's fun, and becoming the norm, to stay so connected to the outside world, we must never forget that the most important people are the ones who live with us and who require no technology to connect with.