Good-bye Old Friend

I know it's been a while since I last posted and this is not an uplifting post to start with but I wanted to share.

We said good-bye to an ever faithful family member this week, Noah. He had gotten sick a little over 2 weeks ago and just never really snapped out of it. He was not eating much and just slept most of the time; there was no tail wagging, and there were times he didn't even greet us at the door when we came home, totally not him! We took him to the vet on Saturday, realizing that he was getting worse and not better, and after doing some x-rays, the doctor (without doing anything invasive) was pretty sure that he had liver cancer. She said left the decision up to us as to what we would do from there, hard decisions, but we brought him home with some pain meds and anti-biotics (his blood-work showed an infection, and sometimes that can mimic the liver problems, although we realized that probably wasn't the case), we both thought we, as a family, needed to at least say good-bye before taking him back for good. However, he did not make it through the night, that was not an easy thing to witness, I'm glad the kids were in bed.

So this is the part that I say, stupid animals!!!! You let them into you house, fall in love with them and then they die! But there is more to it than that...there's the part about seeing what loyalty really is, and unconditional love, both of which he exhibited all the time. I was always amazed at how he would sit at my feet even if I had scolded him, oh, if I could be more like that and not take so things personally at times! And oh, to get excited about the simple things the way he did...just seeing the family come home, it was never just a routine event, we could have been gone for hours or just minutes and was always happy to see us. Or getting up in the morning and checking out the backyard as if he had never been there before; and the confidence in seeing a rabbit or squirrel just out of reach and thinking that he could get it (by the way, he did get a few). So I guess there is a lot to learn from man's best friend, and I did!

Good-bye old friend!

What I Learned From My Fast

Well, it's been a few days since my fast ended and I've been trying to digest what I have learned. It was not easy! What I mean by that is the rest of the world didn't stop because I was unplugged! It's really hard to ignore the TV when it's in the same room you are working in! My two older kids and I were the only ones in the house that participated in this assignment and we all chose to do it at different times, so that added to the fun as well.

I was amazed at the silence. It was quiet, especially at night when I usually turn off the TV and listen to my iPod. But overall, I didn't miss my iPod horribly. There are truly very few shows that I have to watch, I have a very short attention span and so it takes a lot for a show to keep my attention for any length of time. Besides, after a previous assignment ("the Evaluator", which I intend to share with you very soon) I had given up a few shows already. The thing that got me was the internet! Am I too nosey maybe? I have to check my e-mail, someone might have sent me something! Of course, 95% of my mail is junk that I delete before I read it! I tried to think of what I used to do before I had e-mail, can't remember! And in all honesty, I don't receive many e-mails that are so important that I need to deal with them immediately, they can usually wait a day or two for me to respond to them.

And honestly, I did not finish the 72 hours. I had "business" things I needed to get taken care of before I was finished, however, I came very close!

One thing I did notice, as my kids were doing it, I saw them all doing stuff together, even the ones not fasting. They were all sitting around together talking about stuff, that's pretty cool in my book.

Electronic Media Fast

Yes, it sounds uncomfortable doesn't it? Well, in the worldview curriculum that we are studying, we are talking this week about ethics and one of the assignments is to go on an electronic media fast. Want to join us?

Here's the assignment: for 72 consecutive hours you must refrain from electronic media of any kind. No TV, movies, radio, music (including iPods), and no internet (not even e-mail)! And you are NOT allowed to record your favorite show(s) if it falls with-in the time you are fasting. Of course, my kids are making the argument that they have already done this, compliments of Ike, when we were without power for four days!! It didn't work, they're still doing it!

This exercise is to show us just how addicted we are to media. And as we are talking about ethics, we have looked at just how influential the media is on us, whether we realize it or not. Good stuff! Great discussion!

So, I will be unplugged for the next few days (so call if you need me, I will not be checking e-mail!). I figured if I was going to assign this fast, I needed to do it too. I'm sure my eyes will be opened quite a bit as well as to just how much I rely on the electronic world. I'll let you know what I learn, but feel free to join us! Let me know if you do and what you learn!