An electronic fast of 10 days? I'm leaning toward shutting off all my electronic devices between Christmas Eve and January 2. It sounds both scary and wonderful.
Imagine not reading 100 emails a day, not to mention answering the few that need attention? Answering several phone calls? Checking Facebook every few hours? Checking UUpdates for the latest blog posts? Watching the evening news? Playing Lexulous with my sister endlessly? What will happen if I don't?
Well, at least I'll be spared the inevitable surge of disgust when I read the latest obscenity from the Fox crew, or dismay at the mishandling of apostrophes, commas, dashes, and misplaced letters in some friends' FB posts, or frustration at the wingnuts' (both left and right) condemnations of President Obama's efforts to work deals with the Party of No. For ten days, I'd be spared those bursts of adrenaline and clenched jaws.
In their place, I might have a chance to finish Ken Follett's latest masterpiece on WWI, do some much needed personal journaling, walk on the beach, talk with friends and family, show off my new pedicure, make music, sleep late, that sort of thing.
This fall has been so stressful with its many difficult demands that I am wound up tighter than a drum and am feeling almost desperate for a change of scenery, a time away from the church and its needs and enticements. This week has been the first time in a few months when I have not had some major event that I needed to prepare for but had little time to do it in.
There've been the normal worship services, a huge memorial service, band performances, cataract surgery, assorted minor physical ills, leaky pipes and bad weather. I've worried about preparing for the trip I plan to take with my family, what to do with the cats (especially Max the problem child), what to take to go from chilly wet Seattle to warm humid ocean and back, how to avoid problems at the airport, the long flights, all that sort of stuff.
I've actually gone from feeling very ambivalent about the trip to thinking -----get me out of here! Now! I need this trip immediately! It's finally dawned on me that it is the perfect way to enforce an electronic fast----get on a boat, go somewhere where they either don't have the internet or wireless service OR they charge so much for it that I won't want to pay for it.
That's it! I'll take a cruise! Well, actually I've been signed up for this thing for months. I get to spend a whole week with the Favorite Son and Favorite Daughter in law and my two Favorite Grandkids. And I really am going to fast---electronically, that is! See you when I'm back online.
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