Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Not So Pretty Truth

I am going to be honest.

For me, that can be a bit tough.

Not that I am a bold-faced liar, not by any stretch. I am, in fact, a terrible liar. Like a sitcom-esque, stuttering stammering eye-contact-averting incredibly bad liar.

But there is one think I am pretty good at. And that is painting a rosy picture, even when I don’t feel good about something. Even when the Titanic is sinking in front of me, I TRY oh how I TRY to say (and believe) what a lovely reef it will make for endangered sea life. And how fortunate it is to be sinking in ice-cold water, because did you know that cold water slows you bodily functions, and if you don’t drown or die of hypothermia there is a much better chance that you will survive without brain damage? Thank goodness it’s not sinking in tropical waters!

So, you see.

For me to be frank about something in my life that I’m not proud of is no small deal. And this one is particularly tough, because it’s all on me. Can’t blame my childhood or my spouse or some other issue for it. I’m owning the choices I have made and I am stating them in the hopes that putting them out there will help me to break bad habits.

So here goes…

The truth is- I’m on the Internet WAY too much.

Ooh, you are thinking, big stinking deal, Lindsay. Join the club. The whole world is on the Internet too much.

I’m not going to go so far as to say that it’s an addiction (any more than people watching too much TV is an addiction) but it is certainly a bad habit. Like, a 3-hour-a-day habit. At least. And, you know what? I can do better things with my time. I can scrapbook. I can clean (sheesh, that’s not exactly inspiring). I can sit outside on my patio and write. I can re-connect with Dearest. I can learn how to sew. I can plan activities for the Lovelies and I to do.

So there it is. I think that my “resolution” (I hate resolutions) to be on the internet less will actually lead to more QUALITY internet time, like- get in, look at what I really care about, and get out. Maybe it will even give me something to blog about. Because a blog about someone who folds laundry and surfs the internet in all of her down time is not exactly the most riveting piece of literature ever written. So wouldn’t that be an ironic side effect?

I do have a crutch in my master plan, and that is the fact that my folks are coming to Florida, staying for a month, and have rented a house right down the street from us. So I will have my parents’ shenanigans to keep me occupied and distracted. I think I will make myself a little chart (ooh, maybe with stickers! Ha! Probably not.) and try to keep surfing down to an hour a day. I will let you know how it goes. And I promise to be honest, even if it isn’t pretty.