Day 2: Cultivating Balance through Homemade Oreos

I’m so grateful for this new change in my life. In fact, there’s so much I want to share, that I’m having a hard time finding words for just how powerful an impact it’s already had.

But first, I’ll start with my husband’s wisdom.

To preface this, I’ll say that he is not only my best friend, but my protector, my advisor, and quite frankly.. my world.

He’s the person I speak to before I make any rash decisions.

Honestly, a little voice inside me knew when I sent him those texts about completely quitting social media yesterday, that he may try to talk me out of it.

Not because he doesn’t care, and not because he doesn’t understand.. but because he tends to know a few things about life.

So instinctively, I launched myself into the project, to keep myself grounded in the important realization of: something desperately needs to change.

He was inspired by what I wrote, and after reading the texts I sent him while he was sleeping yesterday morning, said to me, “I’m with you in spirit, but don’t quit. We’ll talk about it later today, and you’ll understand why I’m saying not to quit social media.”

Well damn. It left my sails confused about which direction to go, since I’d already found a blogging platform, developed an entire concept, purchased a domain, and wrote an entire post about quitting.

Because I’ve learned with time, that I may not like everything he says.. but usually, if he is adamant about something, he’s right.

Our breakfast passed. Our son was unusually fussy and thought it was funny to scream like a pterodactyl during brunch. Which while cute, isn’t exactly socially appropriate. Our brunch was cut short, and the important, life changing discussion was postponed to later that afternoon.

It was in the car during our drive that I finally understood what he was saying.

He shared a story about his Uncle, who at one point in his life, refused to have a cell phone.

He loved the freedom of not being called while he was away from the house.

So much so, that even in his high ranking position at a bank, meetings and decisions had to be postponed because he couldn’t be reached.

Imagine, an emergency meeting is called, and a client is waiting for hours to hear back, because ‘Dave‘ is at the mall with his nephew.

Obviously, they wouldn’t tell the client this.. but it was a recurring issue, because their talented staff member simply refused to change with the times.

Family would be hosting dinner, and couldn't call him while he was on his way if they needed something.

Or no one would hear from him for hours and hours, and worry if he was okay, because they couldn’t make a simple phone call.

You get the picture.

Eventually, life became too difficult without a cell phone, and he eventually had to change with the times.

He hated all the calls he was getting at first, but it was better to receive calls than to continue with the friction he had from refusing to adapt to modern society.

Now, he regularly takes calls while he is out, and has adapted well.

My husband explained to me, that social media is like a weapon.

As martial artists, we understand that a weapon can be used for good, or it can be harmful.

But it really depends how you use it.

Without him explaining to me, I realized that there were surely people over the years that felt the same way as Dave when times changed.

There was probably a Dave who didn’t want to write letters, because it meant not speaking to someone in person.

Then there was an Andy who didn’t want to get a landline. A Jane who didn’t want to get a computer.

Whether we like it or not, times will always change. We have to learn how to change with them, in a way that’s not harmful.

Unless we want to be a hermit in the woods. Which I completely understand and respect. But for better or for worse, that lifestyle isn’t practical for our family, so we have to exist in the modern equilibrium.

Now, don’t get me wrong. These other inventions were certainly much less invasive than Instagram reels, Tiktok, or YouTube shorts. I do feel it’s a huge problem, and I feel the slope is much more slippery.

But I’d be lying if he wasn’t right about how helpful social media has been in my life, even just in the past year.

It was through reels that I learned about the benefits of natural childbirth, and how transformative a home birth could be for both mom and baby. I learned what to look for in a midwife. I had an amazing home birth because of it, and a truly incredible recovery as a result.

I learned what to do if my child had a tongue tie, and found information that even my lactation consultant couldn’t provide. It saved my breastfeeding journey. Information that my Mother didn’t have access to, that I know would have been life changing for her.

I learned all sorts of ways to foster my baby’s development. Stretches and movement exercises to increase brain connections, how regulating co-sleeping can be if done safely, how to baby-wear.. you name it. I believe it’s helped tremendously, since aside from his Pterodactyl noises, he is such a happy baby that we’ve been complimented by strangers more times than we could even count.

So it would be unfair to deny the benefits it’s had in my life. To the degree that I feel generally well rested and on cloud nine, caring for a five month old baby as a new mom.

This isn’t at all to say that there isn’t also a problem with my doom scrolling. A big enough problem that I wanted to quit in the first place.

But I have to find some way to exist in the grey area, especially if I’m going to teach my own child how to navigate today’s new world.

So I’m sticking to the cause, and learning along the way how to find better balance in my life.

Starting yesterday, inspired by my own life change, I filled the gaps I would normally doom scroll with both fun and boring to do list tasks.

The result? I can already feel my mental clarity returning. Tasks that would normally take days to complete are finished in just one. I’m more present, less reactive, and I even made a batch of homemade Oreos using freshly milled flour.

Like I said in day 1.. I refuse to be a screen zombie. I can’t imagine how damaging that will be for my son, for our family.. and how it will continue to be for myself.

So I’m detoxing, making use of all those daily hours I wasted, using this channel as a means to hold myself accountable, and finding success in the process of doing so.

Is it scary? Yes. Because I’m really putting myself out there.

But I also know how many people are struggling, and how important this cause is to fight for.

Over the next fourteen days, I’ll be documenting my journey of a doom scrolling detox, and finding balance in this challenging new world.

Because something needs to change, and I refuse to stay complacent.

This is day 2, of sowing more seeds, and cultivating an overall healthier existence.

I truly can’t wait to share how profound the positive changes are already.

Stay tuned, for those updates, and to learn more about these delicious homemade Oreos.

Join the garden. Spread your wings, and embrace everything uniquely you. Break up with doomscrolling, and embrace the art of intention.

A new life is waiting.

Until next time, my friends.