Craving connection...

  I'm constantly trying to work on changing the need to feel connected online. I am the first to admit that I am so guilty of keeping myself so busy, I know I'm not always "present" when my kids and husband need me to be, even though I'm there in body.
In a society that's always "plugged in", I find myself always checking to see what I missed out on on Facebook or email. All our family is in Minnesota, so Facebook is one of the only ways I can keep updated on everything back home and love seeing pictures and updates from loved ones. Even if we haven't talked in months or years, I see what they are up to, which is great!! Social media can be a great tool!

   But, I find myself checking it 1st thing in the morning, after breakfast, play with my son, check it again, go run errands, come home, check it again and so on and so on. My husband will be the 1st to tell me if he notices it's taking up too much of my time (not in a controlling way, but out of love).
You see, we don't realize the amount of minutes that slip away when we "check out" for awhile.
But I find myself asking, "Why am I always checking it? If its really important and I need to know, someone would call or text me, right?"  But what I've come to realize is that we are all just craving connection. Texts, emails, Facebook & other social networking sites aren't meeting that need & the downside is, it's taking us all away from the connection at home. We all want to know that we are being thought of, missed, accepted and needed in some way.
(Man, I miss the days of receiving a letter in the mail just to say hi!)
We are present in the body, but not in the mind.
We have "checked out" to "check in" somewhere else.

  I know I can't be the only one that has this struggle in a world today that is filled so much social networking right at our fingertips and it being socially acceptable to be plugged in all the time. We see it everywhere we go, people at the coffee shop, on the bus/train, in our car, parents with their kids at the library, parents at the park, even at church. So much that we are missing out on what's going on in our personal life because we are reaching so far out to stay connected to something we need in our lives so badly. Human connections.

  The changes start with ourselves. Becoming a better listener to our spouse, a funny playmate for our children, and a friend to laugh with on coffee dates.

Just today, I had 2 families over for a playdate with new friends from church. My son has made 3 new friends and is learning how to share (even when he doesn't want to) and I loved listening and learning more about the women I attend bible study with. They are amazing women and we all have different struggles, but I loved having coffee with them. Watching our children play and staying connected and present, especially to correct our children if they weren't playing right, while trying our best to instill in them what being a good friend means.
Because even as an adult...I'm still learning that lesson.