Unplugged, The Value of spending Quality Time

By: Ryan Bush 

Do you remember a time when taking a drive whether long or short meant you were unreachable?  There were no cell phones ringing, no emails pinging, just you, the radio and the company in your car. Who would have thought that today a ride like that would be considered “unplugged”? Did you know it’s more common for someone to leave their wallet at home than their cell phone? Now that is a crazy statistic.

As a mother of 3 with a full time job and wife of a small business owner unplugging often feels nearly impossible. Society has trained us that moving fast and being busy is like a status symbol. Conversations between moms and friends often turns to all the things they have to get done and all the time they don’t have. Finding balance in our ever changing world takes awareness, commitment and conscious effort. I wanted this balance for my family.

Two years ago I approached my husband with the idea of purchasing a motorhome. He snickered and quickly shut down my request. You see I grew up vacationing with my family in a 1979 El Dorado motorhome. Some of my fondest memories were playing Uno with my family at the dinette while my grandfather sang Willie Nelson songs driving down the highway. Games of eye spy with my siblings were as competitive as ever and I can’t even begin to tell you all the license plates I searched for on a ride from Ohio to Virginia Beach one time, trying to identify all 50 states.

Being the pleasantly persistent woman that I am, I took his disinterest lightly. I went on the hunt, we found the perfect starter rig and we made the purchase. My husband was sure it would get used very little but entertained me any way. That first summer we camped every single weekend, including a 19 hour road trip to Ft. Myers Beach, FL and one to Myrtle Beach, SC.

We took no handheld electronics, except for our cell phones which we used primarily for navigation. We bought coloring supplies, card games and board games for the ride. We sang songs, we played eye spy. We communicated. We learned more about each other. We bonded as a family. We began seeking out campgrounds that didn’t have cell phone service and spent our evenings on bike rides and around the campfire. More than once my bustling business owning husband has been driving down the highway and realized he’s left his phone at home and we didn’t even turn around to get it. He said, “The messages will be there when I get back.” Guess what, they always are.

We don’t need to be found every minute of every day. Life moves so quickly, force yourself to slow down and invest your time and attention to those around you. Maybe camping isn’t for you, that’s ok. Maybe being unplugged means eating a nice supper without the television on and everyone’s phone on top of the refrigerator. Maybe it means a day trip to your favorite park or museum and you leave your cell phone in the car. You have to decide what works for you. I can tell you as odd as it feels in the beginning it will quickly become something that you schedule, covet and really look forward to.  Ask yourself, “What does unplugged look like to me?”

As you set your priorities for the month ahead, as you balance your children’s activity schedules, your spouse’s work schedule and your gym schedule, pencil in some unplugged time. It's time you can never get back and time you won’t quickly forget.