Bits and Pieces of Nothing*

(I wear glasses all the time because contacts are pretty much like putting concrete directly on my eyeball. I am not into that kind of pain. Every two years, to the day, I get new glasses because that is what our insurance will cover. And by cover I mean pay for part of them. These are very different from my old ones, which is exactly what I was going for. Jay and Jack helped me pick them out.

I was at a photography workshop last week where the instructor noted that some people even use the self timer on their cameras to take photos of themselves.
WHO would do that?)

I watched an episode of Oprah last week, which is very unusual for me, I rarely turn the TV on during day. It 's funny though, because this one was perfect for me. Kismet? Maybe.

The show was about busy families and how disconnected they feel from one another. Peter Walsh, the "expert" had a family take the Strip Down Challenge. The family was required to relinquish all electronics for 7 days.

Basically, the moral of the show is that we feel more disconnected than ever because of our cell phones, lap tops and busy lifestyles. It hit home. Hard.

At one point, Peter said (loosely quoted from memory), "we can sit in a room by ourselves and send and receive 20 emails but we aren't connected".

Ouch.

I am the queen of emailing. My problem is that I am a chatterbox so a phone call will take an hour, an email, 2 min.

The thing is? I AM NOT THAT BUSY.

And if I showed an ounce or two of self control, I could likely cut the phone call down to 20 min or less.

(We were in Moose Jaw, SK this past weekend - yes, that is a real place - and these are the cross walk signs on Main Street. They cracked me up. I am easily amused. Carry on.)

So I am faced with an issue. My work takes place over the Internet. I can easily slip into Facebook to play a couple scrabble moves, read everyone's status updates and maybe update my own. I also can slip into my blog reader and read and comment on a few posts. Before I know it, I have spent the entire morning on the computer. And then the afternoon too. I have worked but I have also wasted (a matter of opinion) time.

If I worked in an office setting, I would be in the same boat, minus FB and blog reading because I, while it's been 6 years (SIX!) since I worked in an office, I am pretty sure it would be frowned upon.

The difference is, I am alone for the mornings and Kamden is often busy doing his own thing in the afternoon. So if I am on the computer working, and interneting (it's not a word but work with me) who I am disconnected from during the day?

No one. BUT.

(5 km walk we did as a family this past weekend. It did not go well. We'll leave it at that. Also? My youngest son appears to have inherited my temper and stubbornness. Oh joy. Also? Notice the cool spot right between Jay and my heads'? What is it? Ghost? Sun spot? Our deep abiding love?)

I do have to consciously make sure to socialize with other people. Thank goodness I have great friends, some of whom work from home like I do. Others I see outside of working hours. Honestly, the only thing I miss about working in an office setting at a "real job", is that social aspect. But there I felt guilty for visiting when I should have been working.

Good gravy.

I just realized there is always something to feel guilty about.

Anywho, my point (if I have one) is that I have to keep things in check. I am like a broken record but again, it's about balance. Family time, friend time, time with my hubby.

It's a good thing I know how to keep things in check so that I am not so busy I am running around trying to keep the balls in the air. Because being busy, is a choice. My choice is to keep things manageable.

I am pretty sure I will never regret that.

(*Would you expect any less?)