Wondering exactly how/when/if I should fire up the ol’ blog. I like writing and sharing and documenting. I have a million thoughts and ideas. I am also easily distracted and/or interrupted. And busy.
But today, I’m just jumping in with the writing and not really organizing my thoughts. Perhaps I’ll see if this reaches anyone out there on the internets. I’ve never had a massive audience, but when you write a post every year or so…the crowd tends to thin out. Feel free to leave a little comment so I know who’s out there!
For a long while now, I have felt the need to abandon Facebook. It kinda wastes my time. A lot. And frankly, I don’t have a lot of time to waste. Also, self-discipline is not one of my strengths. So while I’d like to be the person who just checks Facebook once or twice a day, that’s not me. Self-discipline is part of it, but I’ve also realized I am an abstainer not a moderator. (source: Gretchen Rubin) I will work out every day at 5:00 a.m. or zero days. I will eat vegan and no sugar or I will stop at McDonald’s every time I see it. I will be infertile and have no one call me mom or I will fill my house with small children…ha! I think I might be able to survive by using the Facebook Groups App and Facebook Messenger. But actual Facebook and I need to take a break. Soon. Today? Maybe.
I have five main reasons to spend less time looking at screens and more time looking at faces. My kids need me. I have committed to educating them at home. There are a few reasons why we decided to homeschool. And lest you think I’m a saintly mother that never looks longingly at the school bus driving by, I have considered (more than once) sending my kids to public school. However, when I’m honest with myself the very top reason for homeschooling is because I believe I can be the very best teacher for my children. (Emphasis on I can be, not I am) I have a degree and 13 years of teaching experience before coming home to be with my kids. Plus, I love them the most. More practically, they would never get the individual attention in a public school setting that I can provide to them at home.
Now before you judge me for bragging about how awesome I am, let me remind you that I said I can be the best teacher and I can give them more attention that a public (or private) school teacher. I didn’t say that I am. Yet. I really and truly believe I can, that’s what keeps me doing this. I just know that I am not currently functioning at my optimal potential as their teacher/mom. Facebook doesn’t have to take all the blame, but it gets a pretty big chunk. It’s high scorer for stealing my focus.
Most of the time I don’t get too worked up about my low scores on my (self scoring) performance evaluation. We’ve admittedly got a lot going on around here. But **news flash** we are always going to have a lot going on around here. There’s a lot of us and life will always be busy and full of adventure of one kind or another. So, it’s time for me to buckle up and embrace the chaos as I educate my darlings.
And speaking of the darlings, the irony is not lost on me that I have traded one screen for another this morning as they march around the house leaving a trail of messes and evidence of imagination. This blog that I opened up turned into a declaration of my imminent uncoupling with Facebook, and that feels good. (Except I’m for sure about to post this to Facebook…but THEN, I’ll tend to my children. Promise.)
Stay tuned. I have a feeling I’m gonna stick around this time.
worth the wait 
I adore you!😘
You are too kind! 🙂
I am only coming to this post almost two years after you wrote it, so I am a little late to the game.
This post definitely piqued my interest becasue of your facebook comment. There are many personal reasons to give up facebook, but I would like to give an American reason, if you have not yet done so. Facebook is notoriaously unAmerican. They do not respect the right to privacy Americans have always had (and taken for granted.) Facebook has notoriously erased those lines Facebook trades your private information for monetary gain. Facebook collects every bit of data about you put on the internet, even when you are not using your facebook app. You have given them permission to do that when you signed up for an account, even if you don’t realize you did. Until Americans leave facebook en masse, they will not change their business practices.