I’m back! I decided to extend Global Day of Unplugging to all weekend. Although I missed chatting with all of you, it was nice being offline with my family. In the past when we’ve unplugged it was usually for a vacation, when there are plenty of tech-free distractions. This time it was an ordinary weekend at home. This proved to be an interesting experiment to see how much screen time is part of my family’s daily routine. Some parts of going offline were easy, while other parts seemed a bit harder to do. Alright, I admit we cheated at one point! But we sure paid the price for that lapse in judgement.
The Global Day of Unplugging began at sundown on Friday night. Following dinner, we hunkered down listening to the wind howling outside, while Mom and Dad played a board game. They haven’t played a board game since lockdown during the pandemic, so it was a nice change of pace. They even let me have a pawn in the game, and took turns moving it for me. I’m not so good at rolling the dice, or counting, so I needed their help. Not to brag, but I won Parcheesi!
On Saturday the windstorm continued, and it was too cold and icy to go on an adventure. Instead, we spent a quiet day at home. What got us was how quiet the house is without the television on or music streaming. Did you know our refrigerator makes a rattling noise? We do now! I also observed that it didn’t take long for the humans to get restless realizing how much of their daily routine involved screens. However, they soon found more productive ways to occupy their time.
Dad headed down to the basement to finally tackle a few projects that he had been neglecting to do. While Mom put away more of the Christmas decorations. Don’t worry! I still have one Christmas tree up! I made sure of that by happily following Mom around the house, supervising the removal of the other decorations, while reminding her that the tree and my Nativity Sheep were off limits. After that job was done, Mom wanted to do another project that’s been nagging at her to get to, but realized she needed her computer for it. This made me ponder, as much as the computer is a useful tool, it is also a great means to avoid getting things done. How many time had she sat at her computer doing something else, while avoiding that project? Well she couldn’t do it today, anyways. Rules are rules!
After supervising as they crossed off a few more things on the to-do list, I then took Mom and Dad for a walk on that blustery day. After all, my routine is largely tech-free, and easy to maintain! Next we settled in for cuddle time, while Mom and Dad each read a book. Alright, I admit I was a little annoyed that neither thought to read aloud to me. I wasn’t asking them to do the voices or a dramatic reading, but the house sure was quiet. Also I couldn’t help but notice the day seems a lot longer without any screens. I wonder if this somehow fits into Chuck Billy’s theory on UFO abductions and missing time? Overall though, going offline was uneventful.
However, we did run into one problem at dinnertime. Dad wanted to make their favorite meal. A meal he’s made countless times before…with a recipe that he has saved on his computer. Tech-free meant no going online to get the recipe. But working from memory, and with Mom’s help, they did surprisingly well recreating it. Well I have to take their word for it because they didn’t share. Although not sharing usually is the clue that it was really good!
Another issue was in the evening, after going without tv since the sundown the day before, Mom and Dad weren’t too keen of another evening without it. Technically the Global Day of Unplugging ended at sundown on Saturday, so we could have returned to our routine. But we wanted to keep the experiment going a little longer. As a compromise, rather than waste time scrolling through streaming options, before finally deciding what to watch, they decided to watch the first suggestion for them. It was Nosferatu. Trust me, it was not something we would have picked if left to our own devices. In fact, I thought the purpose of going tech-free was to not let devices rule the day. I wonder how much stuff we watch on tv is unconsciously chosen by “suggestions”? Anyways, Mom and I headed off to bed early, while Dad finished watching the movie. Let this be a lesson, cheating at the rules of unplugging doesn’t pay! We should have kept the tv off. Those poor rats!
On Sunday the wind had finally calmed down, so we headed out! Which started our next tech-free dilemma, does satellite radio count as going tech-free? Mom and Dad decided it, along with streaming music, was against the rules, so opted to find an FM radio station. That proved to be annoying, and a lot of static, so it was soon turned off. Instead they played the license plate game! It’s the game where they shout out license plates from different states. Apparently a lot of folks from Massachusetts visit Maine, who knew? The things you observe when not participating in carpool karaoke.
Our first stop on this car ride was at a family owned store. Dad wanted to purchase some hiking equipment he’s been meaning to get for our adventures this spring. Even without shipping, it ended up costing slightly more than buying the same product online. However, we were supporting a local business, and he felt good about being able to inspect the items before purchasing. Meanwhile Mom and I waited outside the store, and I worked on her training. She did really well with her sit/stay on that bench. What got my attention was the number of people coming in and out of that store distracted by their phones, so much so that they didn’t notice the cute dog sitting outside. But for those who were paying attention, it was very nice to meet you! Next we went to a park we haven’t visited in a while, and enjoyed a nice walk there. Alright, we were the only ones there because it was still somewhat cold and windy, and the path was icy.
By evening, we decided our tech-free experiment was over, and returned to our usual television routine following dinner. This time we picked the show! Rather than scrolling, Mom and Dad had a conversation about what would be fun to watch, and they searched for it. A much better use of their time, in my opinion. Ordinarily we have a rule of unplugging after dinner, so I still resisted the urge to go online to see what all of you were up to. However, I’m back today and ready to catch up!
