Get Connected: 10 Ways to Stay Connected Even Without Facebook, Texts, or Email
Darcy gives us 10 fantastic ideas for connecting with our loved ones without the use of technology
With all of the conveniences of modern communication, it’s easy to lose personal contact with our family and friends. How often to you cruise friends’ Facebook pages just so you can stay caught up with what is happening in their lives because you don’t really talk anymore? Have you ever caught yourself instant messaging your husband from across the room? I know I’m guilty of both! Let’s brainstorm some ways we can stay emotionally connected and invested, even without email, texting, or social media!
1. Write a letter. A what? I know—it seems so archaic, doesn’t it? You can text 30x faster than you can sit down and write something. Then you have to find a stamp, and who uses those anymore? When my husband was courting me way back in the mid-90s, we wrote a lot of letters to each other, and I loved the act of bringing in the envelope, opening it up, snuggling in with a cup of tea, and soaking up his words. I felt connected to him more than words on a screen in an email.
2. Have a date. Take your child on a date! Send a formal invitation in the mail, get fancied up, then go to the ice cream shop for a treat! Spend time one-on-one with each of your children to give them special face time with you. It’s a way you can find out what is happening in their lives that is really important to them, and it allows you to give them your full focus.
3. Have a family night with no electronics. That’s a scary thought, I know. But, being together without the electronic world interfering (that means no movies, too!) is a great way to get reconnected in what might otherwise be a busy week where you’re only saying “hi” and “bye” as someone moves on to the next activity. Try reading a book aloud together; go to the park together to have a picnic or play frisbee; enjoy a board game or two; learn a new skill together; go camping together in your living room.
4. Leave love notes. You can leave love notes in your spouse’s briefcase or your child’s lunch bag or sports bag. Especially great on important days, these notes of love and encouragement will give them a smile during their day, letting them know someone is thinking of them and praying for them.
5. Share a devotional together. Whether you share a religious devotional or a daily affirmation, spend time with your family in spiritual pursuits, building each other up, encouraging their growth, and talking about weighty matters. You get a great insight into how your children think about the world and can help give them some solid ground to stay planted on. It’s also a time when they can get to know your thoughts and feelings on those matters of the heart, drawing you all closer. This kind of sharing environment might also allow your children to be able to open up about issues that concern them in a way that they might not be able to do on the way to school with their siblings or friends around.
6. Take your spouse on a date. Romance with your spouse shouldn’t end the moment you have children! Send the kids off to a friend or grandma and have a date at home! Or, go play pool and have some adult time. Keeping yourself connected with your spouse makes your relationship stronger, and time when you can talk and chat without the family pulling your attention away is important to help you both focus on each other.
7. Make a phone call. How long has it been since you’ve had a good heart to heart with your Mom or Dad or a good friend who has moved far away? Or what about the great-aunt who lives alone that you don’t get to see much anymore? Call them, even if it’s only a short call, and talk. You’ll love getting to hear their voice again, and you just might make their day!
8. Keep a live journal together. This is a fun activity I do with my boys. We have a journal we write in together (one for each child). I’ll write a little note or ask a question and leave it on his desk. Then he can write back with his answer or his own question or factoid and leave it on my desk. There’s no character limit, there’s no required reading or subject matter, it’s just a free flowing conversation that can be nothing more than a, “Good morning, son” to “I thought of you when . . .” to “Thank you for making breakfast.” We’ve had some wild conversations that were fast paced with the book flying between us in half an hour to lazy comments left days a part. But it’s something special we each share that I will treasure forever.
9. Work on a family project. This can be anything from working in the community, to taking a course to learn a new skill, to creating a garden, to leaving a care package on a neighbor’s doorstep. Planning and working together for a common goal is a great way to bring you together again and focus on the world around you.
10. Take a vacation! Everyone needs a break from their routines and stresses—even the kids. Plan a big vacation, but try not to make it so jam packed with activities that you are stressed about making it everywhere on time. If you can’t afford to go away, have a camping trip in your backyard. Mark a day or three or 10 on your calendar where all outside activities are cancelled, no business trips are planned, no social requirements need to be met, and just enjoy spending time with your family.
Find some way, this week, to reconnect with a friend whom you’ve only connected to through Facebook lately, or spend some quality time with your child or spouse because your schedules have been so freaky lately that you haven’t had time to be together in ages, or send a note to a far away relative you don’t get to see often to brighten their day.
