Today really made me think about the fact that families don't seem to really exist in America anymore - at least, not the way they used to. Tonight six of us sat down... and we laughed... and we screamed... and smiled, and sighed, and relaxed. And that doesn't happen very often. Actually, I don't know if I can remember the last we had that much fun without someone being addicted to a cell phone, television, or computer.
And that makes me sad. It breaks my heart that it took a guest coming into town and me standing up to get everyone's attention to say, "Let's play a game tonight!" before anything like that happened. I mean, if you think about it, at least for me, technology just means more stress. It is more conversations that I have to focus on. It is more plots that I have to remember. It is more people that I have to beat. It is more that I have to improve at and exert control over 24 hours a day. It is just another way to create envy and jealousy and boredom.
I am not going to sit here and start a debate over the educational value of techonology. It would be pointless since the argument can go in a million different ways. But I will say this:
I have missed that family - the family that I knew that sat down and enjoyed each other's company at least one night a week instead of one night a year. I missed the family that laughed at our own jokes and spontaneously broke into song. I missed the family that could get on each other's nerves and still laugh about it.
I am challenging myself on this New Year's Day to make every day with my family and friends unforgettable.
Day 12:
- Twenty-gazillion episodes of NCIS
- One impromptu rendition of "Unforgettable" with Dad
- Two fantastic family games
Also on Day 12: Two google-eyed black fish, three unfortunate accounts of witnessed dog-humping, two small Chihuahua puppies, eight plates of beautiful spaghetti shared throughout the house, one Helen Keller trump card rejected during Apples to Apples.
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