When to Turn Off Your Tablet
Now I don't know if anybody is reading this blog, let alone whether there are any women (other than, I suspect, my wife--Hi, honey) reading it, but I'm going to address these comments mostly to the men.
I tend to have my Tablet with me all of the time and turned on most of the time. We have a campus-wide wireless network at work, and have wireless at home as well. My Tablet has become my one-stop shop for news, communication, work, and entertainment, not to mention all the things I use it for at church (where, fortunately, there is no wireless network). I can check the weather, look up something that Carolyn and I are talking about, get a quick movie review, check or send email, jot something down in my planner, look up a phone number, etc., etc., etc., just about anywhere I happen to be, including most of the local coffee shops.
This past weekend, though, Carolyn and I went to a "Weekend to Remember" conference hosted by Family Life Today. Before the conference, I promised her that, while I was taking my Tablet for note-taking purposes (I ended up not even using it for that), I wouldn't be online or use it for anything else. The weekend was for her and for us and the Tablet was an unwelcome intrusion.
Boy, am I glad I did that!
We had some great conversation time and a wonderful (though not always easy) weekend just to work on our marriage. And to Be Together. Just the two of us, not the three of us...
I know there are other times I need to turn off my Tablet and give her my full attention and I'll be working on those, too, but this one was a big one. I would heartily recommend one of these weekend conferences to any married couple. And don't forget to turn your Tablet off.
I tend to have my Tablet with me all of the time and turned on most of the time. We have a campus-wide wireless network at work, and have wireless at home as well. My Tablet has become my one-stop shop for news, communication, work, and entertainment, not to mention all the things I use it for at church (where, fortunately, there is no wireless network). I can check the weather, look up something that Carolyn and I are talking about, get a quick movie review, check or send email, jot something down in my planner, look up a phone number, etc., etc., etc., just about anywhere I happen to be, including most of the local coffee shops.
This past weekend, though, Carolyn and I went to a "Weekend to Remember" conference hosted by Family Life Today. Before the conference, I promised her that, while I was taking my Tablet for note-taking purposes (I ended up not even using it for that), I wouldn't be online or use it for anything else. The weekend was for her and for us and the Tablet was an unwelcome intrusion.
Boy, am I glad I did that!
We had some great conversation time and a wonderful (though not always easy) weekend just to work on our marriage. And to Be Together. Just the two of us, not the three of us...
I know there are other times I need to turn off my Tablet and give her my full attention and I'll be working on those, too, but this one was a big one. I would heartily recommend one of these weekend conferences to any married couple. And don't forget to turn your Tablet off.
posted by Mark Payton at 3:43 PM
10 Comments:
Hey -- yes at least one person is reading your blog. Thanks!
freshjuice
Hi, Honey. Yes, I'm reading your blog. :) Thanks for giving me your undivided attention last weekend. It was great being together--even if you couldn't leave your Tablet at home....
Wow! Two readers already! <grin>
Interesting to hear that your wife not welcome your tablet..."2 of us, not 3 of us".. :)
Anyway, glad that you made the right choice.
More people than you think are reading your blog. Well written and interesting!
Thanks to your post I discovered e-sword. I always wanted to be able to have an English and Norwegian translation in parallel.
Thanks!
Erik Gylte
anonymous,
My wife does put up with a lot when it comes to my Tablet (not to mention everything else). I am one of those people who tracks a dozen different things going on at the same time. I regulary am looking around, fiddling with something, reading, talking, playing with the cat or dog, etc. all at the same time. When she wants to talk, she wants eye contact and the Tablet would have been a major distraction...
Erik,
That's great! Do you have a Tablet? If so, e-Sword and OneNote (or PlanPlus or GoBinder or other note-taking apps) make a terrific combination. I'll be talking about that shortly.
Mark
My wife quite often complains about being a PC widow so I know her you're wining from. Good advice.
Hi Mark,
I just found your blog this week since I'm considering buying a Tablet PC and using it to prepare my sermons. Your info is great. By the way, I consider my wife my number one ministry over all other ministries. That's one of the ways God keeps our relationship great! We just celebrated our 30th anniversary last week.
Paul, obviously I think you are thinking correctly in looking at Tablets! The longer I use mine the more useful it becomes. Let us know what you decide, and keep an eye on the new units coming out. Both Motion and IBM are rumored to have improved models in just a short time, but all the old standards are great, too.
That is a great view of your relationships with your wife, too.
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