Life Without Screens, part four

I've mentioned in the last couple of posts, Lisa and I decided to have a second weekend without screens at our house. This time, though, we decided to go all out. During the first weekend we basically denied ourselves the Internet and TV, but we left all other forms of communication open. This past weekend, though, we actually powered off our computer and left it off, turned off the ringers on the telephones, and turned off our cell phones (except for Friday night, when our older daughter was at a sleep over).

We got pretty militant. My younger daughter was going to an event at Lazer Kraze on Sunday evening, and we knew that the details about the event were coming via an email. Rather than make an exception to our no screens policy, which is what we would have done last time, we did make an exception, but not to the screens--Lisa turned on the telephone long enough to call this person and find out what was in the email.

Another example: The girls' toilet was dripping water slowly from the place where the water line comes into the toilet. Normally I would have gone to the Internet, googled "how to fix a leaky toilet" and done some research. This time I had to just monkey with the thing until I figured out the problem (And it turned out it wasn't actually leaking. It was so humid in our house from all of the rain we had this weekend that moisture was condensing on the OUTSIDE of the toilet and dripping down).

All of that is nice, but I have to say this: I found the whole exercise MUCH more difficult this time around. Last time we did it--I think--in an attempt to "reboot" our daily activities. We were spending more time in front of screens than we were with each other. But this time, I don't know, I just didn't have much enthusiasm for the whole idea. Pretty much the only way I made it through much of the weekend was by every now and then shouting out, "I'm only doing this for a few more minutes, and then I'm through!" I also took three naps over the weekend just to pass the time.

I guess it didn't help that it rained all weekend and we didn't have anything to do. The family sat in rooms and talked and read together, but we often just got on each other's nerves. We played a family game of Monopoly, but everyone else got angry with me for wheeling and dealing with the others and driving everyone into bankruptcy (That's the POINT of the game, isn't it?). No one really seemed to be in the mood for family bonding.

Maybe it WAS the weather that had something to do with how we all felt. We certainly are all happier this week and getting along better. Finally, Sunday afternoon, I couldn't take it any more. I told everyone, "At 5 o'clock it will be 48 hours without any input from the world. Let's call it a success then. At 5 o'clock I'm watching SOMETHING on TV!" And we did.

One GOOD thing did come out of all of the time without screens, though: On Friday evening, with my older daughter off to her sleepover, Lisa, my younger daughter, and I all went to Home Depot and bought gardening supplies and plants. We planted nine tomato plants, a couple of cucumber plants, watermelon, green peppers, and strawberries. We're all pretty much novices (my younger daughter took care of a lone hot pepper plant last year, and Lisa and I grew tomatoes one year more than a decade ago), so I have no idea if it'll amount to anything, but it definitely would NOT have happened if it weren't not for the "no screens" rule as Friday I was pretty tired and ready to just come home and collapse on the couch.

So I guess, if for no other reason, I'd call this experiment a success.

Just don't expect me to repeat it any time soon!