Our Beach Trip (or The Weekend I Went Without Facebook)
(A little gallery of photos is below the post!)
As summer approaches each year, many people gain excitement. Perhaps it is simply the warmer weather they anticipate or maybe it is the vacation(s) they look forward to. I don’t know. I haven’t felt excited about summer for a long time. Being married to a golf course superintendent who barely gets a few days off all season, I actually mostly dread summer.
Starting in about May each year, I fear when conversations begin turning to summer plans. I can’t tell you how many times I have listened to a #blessed person share how they’ll be spending a week at their parent’s beach house, another week with their in-laws, then ditching the kids for a getaway together at another point. I just smile and nod, trying my best to relate to what that must feel like. And I just hold my breath for the eventual, “So are you going anywhere this summer?” For 25 summers out of my 29 years on this planet, the answer has been a big fat NO (First world problems, I know. I realize I’m very fortunate to have ever had a single vacation). I loathed the first day of school when you had to write or share about your summer vacation because mine were usually quite lonely. Every year I had so much anxiety about that, to feel like I was missing out on something that “everybody else” (a common phrase for me) gets. Similarly, I often relive that feeling when checking Facebook.
So this year when somebody very special to a family member offered that we could stay at their house in Delaware while they were away, we were #blessed too. Although it is not the best season to take off, my husband thankfully pulled off a few days and we were able to take our 20-month old cherub to see the ocean for the first time! Check out a few photos of our time at the bottom of this post! I wanted to enjoy our time together to the max, and not with Facebook, so I was determined to not touch Facebook for the length of the trip. I am kind of ashamed to admit that this was harder than I thought it would be for me…and that I did not succeed completely.
Here’s our trip breakdown/ FB excuses:
Thursday: I was going to meet up with my cousin whom I hadn’t seen in a decade and I didn’t have her number, so on the ride there I had to check for any messages from her until I got her number to text instead. While checking for that, I may have accidentally noticed a few notifications as well. Doh! I scolded myself and started over. We had a wonderful evening in downtown Lewes, Delaware where Reece ate like a big boy at Touch of Italy. Delicious!
Friday: Our little guy had a great night of sleep and actually slept in, then we went to Rehoboth Beach where I met my cousin for an aerial yoga class (no photos of this unfortunately)! I was pumped about getting to try it and my expectations were exceeded. I did things I didn’t think I’d be able to do and felt amazingly stretched out afterwards. I wish there was an aerial class near my home. We enjoyed the boardwalk there and then spent the afternoon at the beach, followed by picking up fresh crabs for dinner. After getting Reece to sleep, I mindlessly plopped on the couch and started checking my notifications WITHOUT EVEN THINKING ABOUT IT ONCE. That was pretty eye-opening as I realized I did it on auto-pilot. Definitely an ingrained habit that I wish to break. Boo!
Saturday: We spent the morning at Lewes Beach to play in the bay. Tons of fun again! I was planning to attend a Summer Solstice yoga event in a local park there that evening, but couldn’t find any information about it other than on Facebook. I found the studio event page, got the times/info I needed, RSVP’d there, and closed Facebook. I very badly wanted to just click on all of those wonderful red numbers that told me I had notifications and messages waiting…but I did not! Thankfully, Reece and daddy played at the playground right beside the park while I ushered in the summer season with 108 sun salutations. Whew, that was an adventure. One of the instructors said, “Yogis don’t run marathons…they do sun salutations”, and it certainly felt like that to me. I enjoyed resting in savasana for about twenty seconds until I heard, “Mama! Mama!”. It made me smile as Reece came running over, climbed on me for a big hug, then pulled me up to sitting. He hates it when I lay down. No savasana for mommy, but it was another glorious experience that I’m glad I got to enjoy!
Sunday: Our vacation was almost over and I felt like I hadn’t truly stuck to my goal of not Facebooking. I vowed to myself that on this day, my 29th birthday I would SERIOUSLY not open the app once for any reason. I lounged on the beach in Rehoboth all day, had a magnificent day with my two guys…and succeeded with no Facebook. Didn’t touch the stuff! Pretty sweet birthday.
Monday: We window-shopped a little in the morning before heading home during nap time. I finally checked Facebook in the afternoon as we got closer to home. By “checked”, I mean I went through my notifications and messages and responded to all of the people who kindly sent me birthday wishes. It is nice to be thought of by others for a minute. I ridiculously wondered if people would forget about me since I was gone for a few days, as if I’d dropped off the face of the earth. It was nice to be back “interacting” with friends again, but I had no desire to scroll through my news feed. That’s where I see posts I don’t agree with, disturbing news headlines or memes that I can’t shake for a long time, people who ooze insincerity and pretension, etc. I buzzed through just a bit this evening until I quickly came across posts that didn’t make me feel good. So I stopped. I feel like this weekend’s self-imposed challenge has made a small dent in breaking my Facebook habit.
Social media goes on with or without you, and that can be either an isolating or freeing realization. My persistent inclinations to check it revealed a great deal to me; I realized I mostly check it out of habit and as a time-filler. I’ve been on Facebook for ten years! It has become a well-established act in my life to find others at your fingertips. Here I am thinking I’m SO busy. There’s always plenty to do, yet my go-to crutch is Facebook throughout the day. It is like a cigarette break, and that time adds up. More importantly, I realized I don’t “need” it. I really wanted to take a good look at that since my impression of others sometime is that they are in desperate need of some sort of validation they’re not receiving/giving to themselves. I am certain it has no bearing on my sense of self-worth, although I believe it has more-so at various times in the past.
I wanted to step back and see if I was using Facebook to fill a space in my life or to strengthen it. I discovered that my life as a mother has been enhanced through Facebook and I want to continue that at this season in my life. I have met some awesome friends through great FB groups, and it is how I discover the majority of events and activities for my son and I to enjoy. It is how I found support for Cesareans and postpartum depression. Facebook enabled me to be in constant touch with my La Leche League for breastfeeding questions, and helped me realize my son has an upper lip tie that I should get examined. My relationship with Facebook is absolutely love/hate. As with anything in life, I will simply take from it what serves me positively, and leave behind what does not (like scrolling through the news feed so often). Maybe it is a good thing to miss out on some things, after all. And real life gave me a better tan than Facebook ever did.
Ah, life at the beach sure was swell, but nothing beats returning home to unpack and do laundry (If I type it like I mean it, maybe it will help). One thing that made coming home much better was the package of new essential oils I had waiting for me! Check out a few photos from our weekend below.
Have you ever felt addicted to social media? Have you unplugged lately, or think you should? I’d love to hear from you below! Or you can communicate with me through Facebook 😉
This is my necessary disclaimer that this blog is not meant to diagnose, treat, or cure. I am only a mom with an education background. I must let you know that any essential oils statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. I simply approve for myself and family of such things that I deem safe, effective, and positively life-transformative. I encourage you all to be informed and empowered with your health. Also, some of my posts may contain affiliate links. When you click them, you help me to cover a small portion of the cost of this blog. I appreciate your support so that I can continue to do what I love. Please note that I only ever endorse products that are in alignment with Odds & Evans’ ideals, my personal use, and those I believe would be of value to my readers.
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Odds & Evans was my first baby and will remain my creative hub for resources, blogs, and links. Our Digital Collab is between you and me… Amanda Evans. I have 15 years of business workflow, creative planning, and digital organization in a broad range of positions and industries. Businesses and solo-preneurs hire me to act as their part-time “business manager”, virtual assistant”, “ads strategist”; I’ve been called lots of things! I live in Maryland/DC area with my husband, two kids, and two cats. As a busy multi-tasking mom and former elementary school teacher, I do consider myself an efficiency expert!
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