And so it begins...

Today's blog is brought to you by the power of paracetamol and tea.  This is important because I may be about to type a load of rubbish and that rubbish may include typos.  If that happens, it is obviously the quality of the tea that has let you down today and has absolutely nothing to do with what is in my brain.

Now that we've got an understanding going on, let's begin...

ARGH! Somebody took away my FaceBook and my Candy Crush (and Farm Heroes, Alphabetty Spaghetti, Othello.......) on a day when all I want to do is lounge on a sofa feeling poorly and pathetic whilst playing on my phone.  Not to mention that, finally, the previously-only-healthy-person-in-the-entire-universe-I-mean-household got THE BUG.  Why? Why would somebody deprive me of my little bit of escapism and sanity on a day like today? Waaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

Let's get one thing straight.  I love being a mum.  I have five children and in this day and age, having five children is a choice that is only made by people who enjoy parenting and are totally insane.  But, do you know what? Sometimes motherhood is a bit less Pinterest and a bit more Groundhog Day.  If you haven't experienced this you are either a) not a mother or b) let's not go there...

So, FaceBook, my dear friend.  You had to be sacrificed for Lent.

My problem with FaceBook is not an issue with self esteem (I don't care how many 'likes' my status gets) it's more an issue with time.  I get A LOT of notifications from FaceBook.  I love FaceBook for keeping in contact with people.  I got an account when we moved away from family and friends so that it was easy to stay in contact.  Having moved around a bit, I have a lot more FaceBook friends than I had ever anticipated having and some of them are, what I like to call, prolific posters.  I love keeping up with people's news.  It is hard work to maintain a network of friends as large as FaceBook facilitates.  But FaceBook is increasingly full of links to interesting reports, ridiculous 'tests', viral pictures and (in my case anyway) a huge number of pages that alert you to multiple posts per hour about reusable nappies and babywearing slings.   FaceBook sucks up my time faster than anything meaningful in my life.

And that's why FaceBook has been (almost) banished for Lent.  The only exceptions are for posting updates of this blog and accessing the Captivated Prayer group (because those ladies rock and they still deserve my prayers <3).

The problem with my attention and time being spent watching FaceBook is partly that my children are not getting the attention that they deserve.  Don't get me wrong, I will still occasionally go and lock myself in the loo for a bit of sanity or I'll sneak off to the kitchen for a brew/cuppa (depending on how far south you live).  But those things last a little while.  They are not a constant escapism in little, or sometimes large, chunks throughout the day.

The reflection for the day in my Lent Bible Study, was to choose something and give it my undivided attention for a few minutes.  I managed that a lot today.  It was much easier to do so without the distraction of FaceBook.  Apparently, I am experiencing an 'awakening of Spiritual consciousness'.  Well, I guess that's not a bad start to Lent...