Disconnected

I spent the better half of four days back in Illinois for my brother-in-law's graduation. (More on that later when I get the photos downloaded.) And while I was there, I had an incredible epiphany: I am so over being connected all the time.

Keep in mind, I've had some kind of "smartphone" since I started at NRF in 2002. Email has been readily accessible and I'm always on it. I want to be the first to respond to messages and hate feeling left out of conversations. There is always more than one thing going on in my life. And God forbid I miss anything, even on vacation. In the past few months, that outlook has totally changed.

From Thursday through Sunday, I had no cell phone.

No email.

No Facebook.

No TV.(I don't even know who got kicked off American Idol or the Biggest Loser! And please don't tell me because I have it on TiVo. But it was awesome that I wasn't online maniacally checking the news to have that spoiled for me.)

PS, before you go thinking that Chad's parents don't have a TV, they do. It's actually a nice, new, big TV. But all we watched was Chicago Sports Network in the background while we were chatting on Saturday night. And that was fine with me.

My weekend "unplugged" wasn't a conscious choice as much as the fact that my iPhone doesn't work at Chad's parents' house (no AT&T service) and there was plenty of conversation and other things to do than to spend time on the computer.

Regardless, I spent the entire weekend being disconnected and I loved it so much. I mean, I L-O-V-E-D it. I woke up to the sound of birds and horses and not much else. Cracked a magazine I'd been neglecting once our graduation to-do list was complete. Had a few long conversations without being distracted. Lived in the moment.

When Sunday afternoon came and we drove through an area with service, I was dreading turning my iPhone back on; watching the thing tally the 200-some email messages that were waiting for my undivided attention almost gave me a panic attack.

I'm starting to see these "constant connections" as suffocating distractions to real life. I need to simplify.

Is this a sign? Perhaps I just really needed the time off work, you say. Perhaps my brain is telling me I need to just cash it all in - iPhone included. Maybe it was just a subtle reminder that life - and relationships - really don't revolve around Facebook. Regardless, it was awesome. And I want to go back!