I finally hit my limit.

I use technology all day at work. I come home and have my phone tethered to me. I am emailing and texting to set up plans, communicating with teachers, planning rides for my children, checking Facebook and LinkedIn endlessly, catching up on work- the list goes on and on. My husband has repeatedly complained about the amount of devices I have around me and that I am never unplugged. (I still say my ereader does not count.)

I have noticed over the past few weeks that my children do not hear me when I am talking to them about their day, homework, or anything else. They are watching television, playing games on the computer (even educational games), or texting with friends. Last night, I hit my limit. We have become THAT household; the one I promised we would never be. We are not talking to each other, we are not listening to each other, we are not enjoying each other, and my frustration hit an all time high.

Last night I told the children that I am going to talk to my husband when he returns from his business trip about trying to implement a no technology zone from the time we get home from work until bed time. I don’t doubt that he will be one hundred percent on board as he is tired of devices. My daughter was quick to point out that I had just finished setting up a new kindle and was doing something on my phone. For the first time I admitted she was absolutely right.

My son asked about the half hour of television we usually watch as a family at the end of the night. I said we can continue doing this. It’s a nice way to wind down together and relax.

My daughter asked if we can use technology if we are all doing our own thing. I said that was the problem. We should be spending this time together as a family. Of course, there will be exceptions and I’m sure we will not be rigid about it. But, it is time to make changes and raise awareness in my home.

From now on, our entire evening can no longer be spent ignoring that there are human beings in close quarters that share a lot of love. We need to share our lives!

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Originally published October 1, 2014