And She's Back . . .

I'm baaack! *Cue the crazy-scary Jack Nicholson face between the doors of that old empty hotel in The Shining.* Or not . . . maybe we should just cue Nan's face as she re-activates her Facebook and Twitter accounts. Not as thrilling maybe, but more true to life.

So how did the Facebook hiatus work out for me? Honestly, it was good and bad. I confess I was wicked lonely for forty days and forty nights in spite of having dear, sweet Husband nearby, Liz on call through texts, gChats, and emails, Son calling with great frequency, Margie sending me snail mail goodies, and other friends checking in often. Even going up to open up the lake cottage didn't ease my need for a social media fix.

However, I did learn a couple of important things along the way. First, there is life without social media. Maybe not as much fun in some respects, but life certainly went on just fine. Second, I spend entirely too much time on social media. My stars! I was shocked to find out how much extra time I had, how much writing I got down, how much laundry I got done, how much work I got done, How much time I had to spend with Husband and Dee and other dear friends (Hi, Lizzie!).

Saving Sarah is nearly done--I added almost 27K words in 40 days, which isn't speed-writing, but it's not too shabby. I hope to have it finished and in my editor's hands by the end of May. I ended up cleaning out closets and donating a bunch of stuff--something I needed to do desperately.

Husband and I have become ferocious Sequence players--man, is that ever a fun game! It's a great replacement for sitting on our butts watching Acorn TV and Netflix, although we did some of that, too. We've managed to get a walk in at least a couple of times a week and we gave our best effort to fighting a change in our neighborhood; and even though we lost the battle, we made a few new friends along the way.

I hit the pool every Monday and Friday morning and finished up one baby blanket for my nephew's new baby and got a great start on one for my other nephew's new baby. I'm going to be an auntie x2 this summer!

I think the biggest takeaway from the whole Lenten social media hiatus was this--I don't need social media to be happy, but I enjoy the community on Facebook and I'm glad to be back. However, I won't be putting the program back on my phone and I'm going to try to keep my FB and Twitter check-ins to just a couple of times a day. Everything in moderation . . .

Comments

  1. Welcome back, Nan! I bet it feels like an old friend is back in town 😄

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    1. Little bit, Ava. I'm trying really hard not to spend too much time with my old friend however... ;-)

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  2. Glad to see you back! I need to take at least part of a page from your book. I'm a slave to Facebook, I'm afraid.

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    1. I was, and I could be again, so easily. I'm going to try not to fall back into that though. I missed the connections, but I also enjoyed the extra time I had.

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  3. Welcome back! We missed you! I think is amazing that you even tried this, and maybe a reminder to all of us that social media can be a fun thing...but that we don't have to let it become a time-suck.

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    1. Thanks, Kristi! It had definitely become a time-suck for me, so I'm glad I stopped for awhile. I hope I can maintain some semblance of sanity as I go back in. We'll see... ;-)

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  4. Welcome back! I can understand missing the connections, especially with the younger people in our lives. Yet I applaud you for sticking with it and getting so much done! Moderation is the key.

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    1. I did miss some stuff that happened--2 cousins got married, a niece is engaged, another bought a house...but I'm sorta caught up now...I think... Thanks for stopping by, Carolyn!

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  5. I'm glad you're back, Nan. It's hard to remember what life was like before social media. For you it's Facebook, for me it's too much television. I can't believe how much you got done, and I wonder how much more I could accomplish if I gave up the old boob tube. Not sure I'm strong enough to find out!

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    1. I was amazed too, Jana, when I counted up my words. Kinda makes me sad I missed so much time by hanging out on social media way too much. Hope I can curb the urges somewhat now that I'm back on.

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  6. Hi, Nan. That was quite an undertaking. Glad you're back.
    I know every time I go dark (when I go home to visit my mother) when I return to FB I feel lost. Like I've been forgotten. Did you have that feeling?

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    1. Funny, Roben, I sorta had that feeling while I was away because not too many people visited my personal blog and I didn't have any way to let the world know I was posting, but man, everyone's been great about welcoming me back, so it's all good. Thanks for stopping by!

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