Impressions from My Ten-day Social Media Fast Part II

I went shopping today. It is a way for me to get my needed walking in and at the same time keep my eyes peeled for things we need or bargains. I didn’t feel really well and not knowing why I called my doctor who is a nurse practitioner. She advised I come in tomorrow for a checkup. There was one lady in the store who had a baby and she was coughing very badly. I haven’t had my flu shot yet this season, so I will have that tomorrow.

Because I didn’t feel well, that was a good way to keep me away from social media. I was tempted only a few times as I read my email (wanting to share some great stuff). I have to tutor online tonight for a couple of hours and after taking Aleve, and taking a two-hour nap, I feel much better.

Last night before going to bed, I was able to read my scriptures and highlight any reference to Christ including God, Lord, Jesus Christ, etc. I read several chapters and marked many titles.

Third Day of Social Media Fast

I have not watched any TV, except for “The Good Doctor”, and I had rare glimpses of the news rather than give in to any media, although the challenge was specifically directed towards social media. I figure it will eventually include all media. I did listen to Pandora, in particular to Karen Carpenter’s station. It was soothing and made me reminiscent of days gone by. The reason for the fast is to be able to feel the individual inspiration to guide me in my everyday experiences.

My husband was off work today, so we slept in a little. Then we went to the South Jordan Senior Center. Since our birthday is this month, they sent us a birthday card and an invitation to have lunch for free with them. So we traveled to the South Jordan Senior Center. We showed them our invitations and they said they only had one meal available. My husband was more than glad to let me go in alone since he thinks he is too young (haha)! They were finally able to squeeze another in (since they were having spaghetti! I thought it started at 11:30, but was told it would be at 12:00 noon. We were escorted to a table by a gentleman with a walker. The hall was all decorated for Halloween. There were nurses from Utah Valley University there to take vital medical tests, like blood pressure, sugar count, pulse and oxygen reading. Since I had taken my beta blocker medicine, and sugar meds, my vital signs were pretty normal.

They were also playing BINGO right aft4er lunch and everyone would get a prize The first blackout would get a bigger prize. I was excited, but Isi wasn’t. We were sitting with three other seniors, one of which looked like a movie star. He had a mustache and long hair and looked like he would fit in a cowboy or old war movie. The other man was very talkative and entertaining. The lady never said much at all, but looked pretty in her wig.

Our lunch included salad, a large portion of green beans, a little spaghetti, some applesauce, and 1% milk. It wasn’t the most extravagant birthday meal I have ever had, but it was healthy!

There were about 60 seniors present. I believe I was the youngest there and some told me I was not old enough, but I am.

Bingo began and they had all the right equipment. There was a big boxed machine that spit out the balls one by one so the MC could read them. Also, a billboard lit up when a number was called and stayed there until we were finished. After a while, someone yelled BINGO! She was able to go up and have her card verified and then choose a prize from several items that looked like you see at a second-hand store, although these included medical items and food items. About halfway through, I had BINGO, and went up to claim my prize. I chose a bottle of VICKS and a puzzle I thought my father would enjoy since his birthday is this month too.

I really enjoyed my time at the senior center, but Isi didn’t. He still thinks he is too young for that crowd! Then we left to see our retirement specialists. We found a financial nerd there to help us and found out that we can live fine up until age 93 when all of our money will run out.

I didn’t plan to live that long anyway.

Then we noticed the light on in our car that said our tire was low, so we set out to get it fixed where we leased our car more than two years ago. We got free popcorn, a donut, and cocoa. What a great day! I was so busy, I hardly had time to think about social media.

As soon as we got home, the Duct Cleaners were at our home as appointed. They cleaned our furnace, ducts and dryer vent (which was full of lint from years of neglect)! I felt a bit cleaner after that.

I was exhausted from such a busy day, so I just laid down to rest. When I awoke, I had to concentrate on not watching any media. So, I sifted through my email that has been piling up for weeks. I deleted over 500 plus emails that I had saved for whatever reason. That felt good.

I was a bit tempted to share some things in particular emails to social media as I have always done to bring in hits or just because they were excellent. Control. Yeah!

Before sleeping again, I read my scriptures and highlighted all references to God, Lord, Christ, Jesus, etc. There were not so many this time since the text was concentrating on war strategies (not my favorite parts).

We are in a war every day of our lives between good and evil. Teaching us strategies on how to deal with these challenges is most likely the reason they are included in the scriptures.

If you are interested in more of my impressions from the ten-day fast, go here.