Cindy W. Morrison

THREE Whole Days Without WHAT?!!! (Also known as… How A Social Media Addict Survived The Wilderness)

I sat there grinning ear to ear as both of my children received the Hero Award at camp. (MY kids?! They MUST have gotten that from my husband!) I was so proud they not only survived but thrived a whole week at camp. Then as the camp leader spoke, I realized my kids and I have a lot more in common than I thought. You see, Kanakuk doesn’t allow ANY electronics — no cell phones, ipods, video games or email. Nothing.. nada. The leader laughed that all the kids had made it by just fine without all that stuff. Gulp… how ironic. You see, I was in withdraws from no cell or internet service myself.

All this started the week before when my Girlfriend and I sent our kids away to technology-less camp. We laughed and wondered if they could make it a WHOLE WEEK. What?! No X-Box? No text messaging? LOL… why do they need all that stuff anyway?

God definitely has a sense of humor….

Before the end of the week, my Girlfriend and I headed to a resort near camp to chill for a day before we picked up our kids. Since both of us can work remotely, we decided working alongside nature for a day would be a nice change of pace. WRONG! I woke up the next day only to find my cell phone didn’t have service at the resort and the internet didn’t work in our cabin. Holy Hannah!! I had SO MUCH to do! I didn’t have time for a vacay!!

With no other choice, I laid by the pool and TRIED to chill. Still every 30 minutes I was checking my phone and practically twitching that I couldn’t tweet, facebook, call or email. I felt I was in a heavenly hell. It was a beautiful backdrop but I was completely out of touch. HOW COULD I LIVE WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY?!!!!

As we left to get our kids the next day, I was caught somewhere between happiness (to see the kids) and a deer in the headlights (oh dear, what was I missing?!). Of course, the first emotion completely took over when I saw my kids and gave them a huge hug. But as the closing ceremonies began to wrap up… my mind began to wander back to my electronic-less existence and how I wouldn’t have cell or internet service until we drove back A DAY FROM NOW. That’s when the camp leader began talking about loving life and living a week without gadgets. Maybe he wasn’t just talking about the kids… maybe it was more than coincidence that my cell phone didn’t work at the cabin.

As we left camp, I stored my cell phone and computers. For the next day and a half I promised to pay complete attention to my children. No tweets. No cell phone checking. No work. Instead, I would embrace this world of no electronics and live the simple life. It was awesome… we talked, laughed, swam and napped. Other than the TV… we had no contact with the outside word. And you know what? No one died. No one fired me. And I’m not sure anyone really missed me. However, if I’d continued to check my phone every 30 minutes or continued to cuss the internet connection then my kids WOULD have missed me… and I would have missed out on the most special thing: my kids.

Don’t get me wrong. When I had a chance to call, email, tweet and facebook today… I felt whole. Oooohhhh… it was goooood. I was happy as a little lark as I plugged back into social media. However, I now have a much greater appreciation for UNPLUGGING. Social media and electronics are fabulous. Just don’t let it take over so much that you don’t enjoy everything else life has to offer. Whether it be a week at camp or a few days away, don’t forget to be a hero to those who matter most.