I spent this weekend “unplugging” for Shabbat. Unplugging is a new trend, and truly I am a Reform Jew, so it is not part of my common language. Rather, I am a blogger and a total advocate of Facebook and all other aspects of social media. I love that I am back in touch with friends from my childhood, and I totally value any platform that would bring us back together.
I thought unplugging would be very hard for me, but as I evaluated what I really missed from the 24 hours, it wasn’t the constant online bantering that brings so many smiles to my day that I missed. This 24 hour pause, however, made me realize that instead, I missed taking pictures. The documentarian in me and the artist in me missed that outlet so much!
Friday evening, after I was song leading at Shabbat services, I met up with my family for our traditional Shabbat sushi dinner. My husband’s birthday is next week, and Sushi Hama does the best birthday celebration – lights out, loud disco music, confetti streamers and green tea ice cream with a candle. I hated not being able to share our family joy with my online community.
Then again on Saturday – we attended my son’s football team’s picnic where they were presented trophies and photographs. It was a significant moment with no photos!
And then again on Saturday, my daughter and I had mother/daughter manicures, and there was a selfie just begging to happen with our perfectly polished fingers.
If that wasn’t enough – we ran into friends selling Girl Scout Cookies at Walgreens, and I so wanted to post a photo with a caption that said, “Look who we ran into!”
I understand the value in unplugging, but perhaps for me, these photographs are my way of unplugging. My shutting down and pausing is expressed through capturing moments that mean a lot to me. Some people draw, some people knit, some people read – I take pictures.
So, my song of the day is the song “Selfies” by Nina Nesbitt, because oh, how I missed them and truly value them for all they are worth!
