Things Learned

I should be in bed... but I am happily reunited with the electronic world and I can't believe how good it feels! This years media fast was especially hard. But like every year I learned something new and I appreciated the opportunity it brings to re-evaluate and tune into what part the media plays in my life!

Things I learned:

1. It's hard to go to sleep without the tv sometimes. The tv helps turn off my brain!

2. When you aren't constantly checking your emails and facebook you get SO MUCH MORE done!

3. When you don't watch the news or listen to the radio you feel very cut off from the world. That can be scary. It can also be peaceful.

4. When the tv isn't on, the kids get their homework done faster.

5. When kids get their homework done faster they go to bed earlier.

6. When kids go to bed earlier they get their homework done faster.

7. It was fun watching my kids play games with their Dad again!

8. Listening to *church* music during the week was kind of nice.

9. I missed my friends.

10. Married kids don't want to hangout at your house when you can't turn the tv on.

All in all it was good. It was harder this year than any other year. The only thing I can contribute to that is my *stress* level has increased and I have been using the tv at night to tune out the worries!

Resolve:

I am going to try to limit my computer use during the day and add more {church} music into my daily routine! It was uplifting and fun. Not that I listen to anything that I would consider not uplifting, but it helped me to think about the Savior more and what is more important than that? :)

Yep, the media fast was a success. I should add that my children were even more *strict* than I was and were shocked when I watched a movie one night (a classic - Ivanhoe) to help me sleep. It didn't work! It was too action packed and I ended up staying up too late into the night! But they definitely were a good example and deserve a gold star for being so good!

If you haven't ever done a media fast you should try it. It's very eye opening. A little painful. But you do live through it and you learn a lot about yourself. And your family.

Now - where did I put that remote. . .