week 37: unplugged
this week on the little dream farm
Chris hopped in the truck Sunday afternoon and jetted off to a three-day work trip in Milwaukee and then headed to Colorado Springs from there for the funeral for a longtime good friend Chris met back in his very early Air Force days. He got back home to the farm Friday late-afternoon and is doing okay. We’ve talked quite a lot these last few weeks about life and death and friendship and family and the state of the world today—always all around us reminders of the preciousness of life and just how short it truly is, and sadly so much shorter for some.
As for me, back here on the farm I went into single-farm-mom’ing mode, as we lovingly call it when one of us is off the farm. After thinking about it, needing it, wanting it but not doing it and then finally just giving into it, I decided to unplug somewhat this week, and man did I really need and enjoy it.
In addition to work I zoomed off to the gym, went on long walks, spent more time with the animals, did some deep cleaning for the donkey corral and the chicken coop and the house, read three books, watched a season of a show on Netflix, journaled, had a good talk with my mom, and some epic snuggle sessions with the cats.
The universe must’ve wanted me to be truly unplugged because we also had a major wifi outage in our area all of Wednesday into Thursday which made it so I also couldn’t log onto work or work on my military education course I’m finishing at the moment—my boss said don’t sweat it, enjoy the day. And I did! It rained most of the day and I had the windows cracked enough to hear the steady sound of the rain, lit a bunch of candles, read all day long with a different cat sleeping in my lap at any given time, whipped up a batch of homemade chocolate and vanilla ice cream each, made a fabulous dinner, and crawled into bed early. I also spent time throughout the day getting the animals ready for me to be away all of Thursday visiting a friend in Pennsylvania and to have our sitter come by Thursday night to make sure everyone got their dinner and got settled for the night before I got home quite late.
Thursday morning I was outside just after 3 a.m. to get the donkeys and chickens ready for the day before I fed the cats and hopped in the car. As soon as I shut the front door behind me to go outside I could tell the stars were incredible from under the front porch. I stepped off the porch into the dark of the morning, looked up, and was reminded of what a fabulous night sky we get here in the country—even with the light of the barn and the lights on inside the house, it still took my breath away. In the summertime we’re often in bed before the sun fully sets and Chris takes all the morning farm chores (he generally begins those around sunrise) so it has been a long while since I’ve been outside that early on a very very clear morning. Normally I’m at my writing desk journaling and having coffee with Micro in my lap (as he is right now while I sit here at my writing desk with coffee and my fuzzy little editor!). Note to self to just pop outside in the morning while I’m already awake to catch that beauty more often.
It’s a theme I find myself writing and talking about often—presence. Being present in the moment. Remembering that life is short and precious. Recognizing the things that truly matter in life and holding those things closely. Letting go of the things that don’t serve us or that keep us from enjoying and being tuned in and focused on what truly matters. Things we all inherently know, but that most of us still struggle with or have to be reminded of regularly. And it’s OK—we mere mortals will just need to hear it many times over and over and over again so it keeps seeping its way into our souls.
We all know the negatives of social media and being so obsessively connected in today’s world. And then there are so many positives to having the ability for that connection, too—just like the Instagram for our cats that brought so many of us together while we lived in Philly and then the farm Instagram account that kept us connected when we moved and began our new lives here, and now this Farm Note which allows us to connect and maybe go deeper in a bit of a different way (and which I don’t at all consider to be social media). As much as I love all of that, still, I find myself from time to time daydreaming of ways to quietly disappear off of social media altogether. What I’d hate to lose is the connection. What I’d love to reclaim is the freedom from distraction, comparison, the constant barrage of advertisements and a clearer head without all the noise.
As someone who loves to share what we’re learning and how we’re growing here on the farm and has lots more books inside me and a burning desire to share, I know I won’t be deleting my accounts any time soon. But weeks like this one were a perfect nudge to take more weeks like this one.
I saw one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve seen to date on this farm and one of the very best night skies. I had some of the most restful sleep and vivid dreams, great meals, restoring walks, and the best and most precious moments with our animals. While a good portion of my day was spent in the car on Thursday driving back and forth to Pennsylvania, I got some really good time with one of my longest and very best friends and her beautiful family while they’re back in the states from Peru (where they’re currently living) visiting family. All of this, of course, can be done while still connected. But sometimes, it’s just all so much better while unplugged.
So that’s the news from this very relaxing and restorative 37th week of 2023 here on the farm. And a reminder that when you unplug, you’re actually plugging yourself back in. I highly recommend it.
Now (and always) I want to hear from you! What are some things you do to unplug and how often do you do that? I loathe the notion that we have to ‘manage our relationship with social media’ these days but alas, this is the wild world we live in. What are your tips, tricks, what works for you, what brings you back to you when you need it most? Tell me about it in the comments!
I always enjoy your blog, but this one, in particular, more so. I’m a week late in reading because Milo my 15 year old Cockapoo & I were road-tripping along Lake Ontario / Thousand Island Area, stopping wherever we pleased to capture photos. This is how I unplug. And oh those night skys in Rural New York. LOVE
During lent, I gave up all social media. It was nice not to be all in my phone. In the past, I have forgotten my phone at home. I was too lazy to go back and find it and went and did my running around and came home. It was freeing.