Instead (of Facebook)

I closed up my Facebook account. Again. This time I’ll be wise and not go “check to see if I’m still there”. In case you didn’t know (or care), once you’re signed up, you’re forever signed up. They just keep you in their back pocket for the day you return, and when you do, voila! Every setting you had is brought right back up! I find it creepy, but there it is.

I’ve been sitting on a blog post about why I left, mostly to explain to whomever “friend” decides to stop by here to figure me out (hello!). It’s a hard thing, though, explaining why I don’t find it a blessing without stepping on the toes of part of the 400 million people that apparently do. So…it’s just sitting here, waiting. For whomever cares. It’ll come, but not tonight.

I also cleaned out my email box of newsletters, groups and so forth. None of it was bad; it was all great! But, they added to my computer load of little foxes, stealing from the vines of my time. I also recommitted my blog’s “no comments” policy. I tried to offer them (and thank you for those of you that commented!), but they once again became stumbling blocks for me.

I have to realize that the time I have is short, and I can’t do it all, even though I want to belong to the “everyone’s doing it” club. It is all right; I’m the only one that has to live my life. No one’s reading this blog by compulsion

Decluttering my time has been good. I’ve been able to do many things “instead”. Like taking the time to write not one, but two friends who are either contemplating or trying to divorce. I think they knew I would say hard things (though I tried to be loving about it). But it’s still hard. I want to belong to the “I want to be everyone’s friend” club, too. Sometimes principles and people cross. Besides, I think that friends that don’t tell you the truth are not friends at all. Do I nod approval to maintain friendships? If I fear losing a friend, then I am not loving at all, but rather self-centered on my own needs to have that person in my life. It is a sad thing, all around. I don’t know if I’ll hear from either one again. I pray for their families to be restored.

In my “instead” time, I took up crocheting. I really like it! I thought I’d crochet a scarf so that I can really learn the basic stitches (over and over and over….). At the rate I’m going, it may be finished by fall. It’s made with a lovely green alpaca yarn that feels so delicious!

We welcomed eleven live baby bunnies this week! One was lost at birth, and we lost one today, so now have ten. They are so darling! We didn’t breed our chocolate Havana rabbits at all last year, so it has been fun to do that again. We sell or give away our kits either for pets or for 4H projects. Raising rabbits has been such a good experience for my 12 year old daughter.

In the garden, we’ve been redoing and replanting raspberry beds, and this year I added marrionberries to it. We’re planting elderberries and a goji berry bush as well. Twelve new peony roots are starting to poke through the soil. It’s hard to see all of these small, insignificant sticks poking out of the ground; they don’t seem like much. I try to stay focused on the future harvest and beauty by giving attention to small beginnings now. Sort of like building a family, yes? Asparagus roots were put into the garden as well; they were a complete flop last year. Failing doesn’t mean it’s over, though. Sort of like building a family, yes?

Instead of computer time, I’ve gotten some books read, and projects finished….and some books bought and projects planned (it’s an ongoing illness ha). New life is pumping into homeschooling and homemaking, and that is a blessing as well. Here is my finally finished Civil War reproduction-fabric quilt! I think it just looks beautiful, and I was pleased to put it over our player piano. My husband says it’s one of his favorites. Mine, too.

It is a blessing to be home, and to make a house a home. My ongoing challenge is to not let the distractions become fodder for neglect. Sometimes, the “instead” things are truly better.

Blessings,

Tagged as: handwork, homemaking, media, time management