Remember When We Used To . . .

Our family has had a little experiment going on since the first of the month, and now that February is more than half gone I am taking stock of the situation. Here's the set-up: On Saturday night, January 31, I made a proclamation that I half expected to cause an uproar amongst my offspring; surprisingly, my grand plan was met with only one raised eyebrow, offered up by Randy himself.

I took the rather drastic step of declaring that for the next month, our family was going to go TV-less. Wii-less. Computer-less. No screens. Zip. Nada. Zilch. Naturally, my impulsivity failed to take into account the fact that the following day was Super Bowl Sunday, but frankly choosing whether to root for the Steelers or the Cardinals was, for me, like asking if I'd rather have brussels sprouts or turnip greens for dinner. I'll take neither, please!

But I digress. After assuring Randy that he could watch his little game, I made it clear that effective Monday, February 2, the screens were going dark. And, not surprisingly, my diabolical plan has been a success! Do you realize how much creativity kids have when their attention isn't being diverted from some box with flashing lights and pretty music?

Don't get me wrong. I don't think television or video games in and of themselves are inherently evil. I don't even think my kids watch or play too much. No, I have merely been yearning for a return to simpler times (those simpler times being the days of homeschooling) when the kids spent most of their time together, and when the TV was on for a purpose, say for Family Movie Night. Nowadays, the kids are so busy with their various friends and activities that it seems we're rarely all under the roof together at the same time, and it saddened me to see the kids not spending as much quality time together as they used to. Thus, I took the rather radical (some might say) approach of banning electronics as a means of encouraging the kids to look to one another for amusement.

Tyler, Darcy and Peyton were invited to the home of some school friends yesterday since they had a school holiday. And these school friends have a computer, and a TV, and a Wii. Now I am not a completely unreasonable mom--give me a little credit!--so naturally I did not release my kids into my friend's care with the instruction that they not be allowed to watch or play anything electronic. As a matter of fact, they have been so uncomplaining about the ban that I daresay part of me thought they might have even earned a little screen time.

So what did they do in the four hours that they were there? Played with the dogs. Jumped on the trampoline. Played hide-and-go-seek on five acres of land. But do you want to know the best part? They did all those things . . .

together.

Two twelve-year-old boys and three girls ages seven to ten played together. Will wonders never cease?