Beginning...to think it may have been a mistake, but I started reading The Brothers Karamazov again. I attempted to read it a couple years ago, and I got about halfway through it before 1) the book slowed way down and I lost focus, and 2) I got so confused about some of the cultural aspects of the book that I didn't know what was going on anymore. (Katerina paid Dmitriy and he took off with her money? Or he didn't pay her money? Or he didn't pay her back? Something happened with some payment and I'm super confused.). This time I'm participating in this read-along on Youtube, and hoping some of these people who are really into Russian history can give me some clarity.
Reading...an actual, honest-to-goodness monthly TBR (to-be-read list). I've always resisted creating lists of books to read each month because I'm a hopeless mood reader. But I realized that mood-reading didn't go so well last year - it was a slow reading year for me. I have been creating my own book categories for each month, and slotting in my reading choices, and so far it's keeping me pretty focused and productive in my reading. I plan to continue it into February. I don't want to share my TBR lists though, because I need the flexibility to swap books out for my different categories if my moods change!
Organizing...I wrote last week about some of the things I've been organizing, so I won't go into detail here, but at this immediate moment I am sorting through December's photos. I kind of forgot about this winter hike we took until I saw the photos again, so I'm going to be lazy and use them in this post today!
Drinking...chai tea. I've been drinking a lot of tea this week, trying to resist the urge to eat the rest of the Christmas chocolate. Somehow if I eat just one or two pieces, and then top it off with a mug of tea, it satisfies my urge to ingest something sweet while we watch our shows. Chai is especially hitting the spot - it snowed this week, and I spent some time reading a book under twinkle lights, with my tea, while it stormed outside. It was lovely.
Feeling...out of sorts, once again, and realizing that whenever something stressful happens in the country I majorly slack off on blogging while I obsessively read the news. As you can imagine, this is not a great routine for my mental health, and there have been several periods like this in the last year (May/June, November, now). I am trying hard to reset this week and get back to reading my books, getting us into an efficient school routine, working out regularly, etc. You know, structure. Order. Necessary things.
Watching...I'll tell you what I'm not watching today, and that's the inauguration. No, thank you. I'm sure if something noteworthy happens I'll hear about it. No, this week I've been watching Monk and The Mandalorian with Derek (we're late to the party on that one), and Intervention by myself. Derek doesn't like Intervention, but I find it a little...soothing, maybe?...to watch people agree to treatment for their addictions, and hopefully turn their lives around. It's uplifting to me.
Wondering...if I'll ever return to Facebook or Instagram. I haven't quite got up the nerve to delete my accounts, but I did inactivate my Facebook, with Instagram to follow.
I honestly don't think I'll ever go back. Aside from all the Big Tech insanity right now (if you are not at least a little alarmed, I'm not sure you're paying attention), I've found my first few weeks untethered to Instagram deeply refreshing. I've taken social media breaks before, but it was always with the thought of someday returning to the platforms, so I didn't feel truly free of them. Now I do.
I feel more present (and I hate that word, but can't think of a better one), more in tune with the needs of my family. More aware of the areas I have been selfish, the ways I have let social media suck away my time and my joy in motherhood. I'm actually noticing more frequently the cute little things my kids do, letting this young family stage hit my heart in a way it sometimes didn't when my face was always in my phone. I'm convicted for allowing Instagram to steal my focus, thankful for the way the Lord has opened my eyes to problems it was creating in my own heart.
I wish I had let go of Big Tech and addictive social media sooner. I don't think I even realized how badly it was affecting me until I no longer allowed it to be an option. I'll probably write more about leaving big social media as I let this new stage settle in, but I'm excited about it, and thankful for all of you who stick around to read my blog. This is more meaningful place for me to share my thoughts, and I hope a more meaningful place for you to read them. (Bekah's post on blogging yesterday made me so grateful again for this blog community that persists!)
Resolving...to write more letters this year. I think I resolve every year to write more letters, and I rarely do as well as I want to, but I think it's important to keep trying. Letter-writing is one of those traditions that is being lost, and it makes me so sad. Nowadays we all shout at each other on social media, but isn't it more emotionally satisfying, more meaningful, more impactful to you as a person, to get a letter written to you by a friend? Even if it's full of nothing important, it's a tangible piece of evidence that someone resisted the urge to shout into the internet ether, and instead thought of you individually and wanted you to read words written just for you. That's even more special than it used to be, I think.
What are you all up to this month?
Hi Callie, long time reader here, but not very good at commenting!
I never had Facebook, but I deleted my Instagram last year. It had been so frustrating, realizing I'd just wasted an hour of my day with scrolling, and still kept going back to it. So I deleted it and it felt so good! I miss certain aspects of it, but I'm pretty sure I'll never go back.🙂 It's encouraging to me to hear other people making similar choices.
Thanks to no more social media, the current lockdown in my province, and teaching from home, I've been getting more reading done this week. Silver lining, I guess..
I enjoyed reading The Brothers Karamazov. One thing I do when I´m reading anything by Russian authors like Tolstoy and Dostevsky and am confused or have any questions about the plot or what is going on, I read a synopsis of the book. It helps and I don´t feel bad about doing it!! I am so glad that you are enjoying your social media break. I gave up IG for years (never had FB) but am back on it due to my teens having IG accounts that I feel the need to monitor. I´m pretty good about not spending too much time on it. I am dealing with the sad state of national affairs by assiduously avoiding the news :(.
I'm totally getting into letter writing this year! I think have 5 or 6 penpals that I've started writing to since November and I've been really enjoying it. Have you watched The Chosen? We started it way back in May and are almost finished with the first season (there are only 8 episodes, honestly, I don't know why it's taken us so long other than the fact that I feel the need to process each episode before continuing). If you haven't watched it yet I would highly recommend it!
We are in such a similar place right now. I didn’t watch the inauguration either. I just couldn’t. Instead, I made a big lunch for my kids and kept myself busy around the house. I have felt like a new person without social media. I’ve noticed I’ve felt a lot less lonely. My circumstances haven’t changed, but keeping my head down and minding my own business has made a world of difference. I’m not sure if I’m ready to completely pull the plug (mainly because it’s the only way I’m able to keep in touch with friends and family, most of whom are long distance), but I’m very very close. I’m reading No Filter right now, which is about the founding of Instagram and what it has turned into, and it’s making me want to run far away.
I've been drinking so much chai lately! It's just what I want all day at work.
Chris and I are late to the Mandalorian as well, we finished season 1 a week or two ago, and haven't started season 2 yet. We're trying to watch less tv these days, and when we do watch a show lately it's Taskmaster on YouTube, which we are just finding immensely hilarious.
I am also writing more letters this year! And like, I actually have written more letters in the last month and a half then I did the two years previously, I think. I'm looking forward to more happy mail days :)
I barely even knew the inauguration was on. Ha! It barely even crossed my mind. So much to be said there. I wish I could get off of social media but I get most of my business from there.
New reader here (thanks for stopping over at my blog!)... but I am SO excited to read this post and see how much we have in common!! Jesus lovers, mamas, readers, and what hit me a ton is when you brought up social media!!!! Back at the beginning of November, I deactivated my IG. I didn't completely delete it because I thought I would take two weeks off and go back. Facebook is gone, because that was a space I had left way earlier but never officially deleted. Anyway, here I am two and a half months later and still not wanting to go back on IG. I can't believe it, but I have zero desire. I have so much more peace. I felt God nudging me to leave it, and I have totally been able to see why. I could go on and on with all of this, but I won't. I guess I just wanted to comment and say how excited I was to see someone else that was in the same shoes I am in. This is a world where social media seems to be everything, so when I left I will say I feel in the minority.
Hi Callie! Long time reader on and off. I was semi forced to watch the inauguration because it was on at work and it was everything you could expect 🤢 from the butchered national anthem to the horrible speeches. I deleted my personal Instagram and Facebook too. I kept my business accounts but I don’t follow anyone and it has honestly been so freeing and I’m overall happier and less anxious with it gone. I look forward to resuming reading here more often now that I’m not mindlessly scrolling!
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