I'm not a big "black Friday" participator. I'll begin with that. However, I have been known to venture to Walmart later on Friday to stock up on things like jeans for my kids and sheets for the beds. This year, there were several retailers that closed for the day to give their employees time off with their families. I thought that was pretty spiffy of them...and then it dawned on me that I would be contributing to other people working if I went shopping. Yuck.
I've been blessed to have the day off work for as long as I can remember, so I need to share the wealth and let others have it off, too. As it turns out, we were in the back hills of Arkansas celebrating family...and no cell phone signal, or wifi or internet connection, for that matter. And we didn't die. I don't remember the last time I was completely "off the grid." It was weird, at first, but then it was fine--and then it was good! I think it actually took me a couple days to quit jonesing for a hit from my internet devices. How awful is that to admit?
Needless to say, I didn't die. The kids got over it and went to play with their new found cousins. They went hunting and hiking and we went to visit old homesteads and a 2 room country school house their great-grandpa attended as a child. It was pretty cool. It was really cool, actually.
We didn't miss Black Friday. This Christmas season, I would encourage you to unplug for a bit in an intentional kind of way. It's a great way to keep connected, but it's also really invasive and disconnecting to those who are right next to you.
What will you actually miss if you turn off your tech? What will you find? Tell me about it in the comments below.
P.S. I apologize for missing my regularly scheduled post on Friday. I didn't realize how disconnected I would be, so my post didn't get posted on time. Nevertheless, here I am. I'm back on schedule now. I hope your Thanksgiving was beautiful.
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