Reminder to Disconnect

This blog is both about RVing and a journal of sorts. Today, not about Rving. We are in Fort Myers Beach, FL for a couple weeks.  We  make this trip each year for a break from the cold and to relax and refuel.  

This morning on my daily walk I had a good reminder to disconnect and engage with those around you.  

As I walked along I could see a couple toddlers, digging in the sand building who knows what.  Standing about 10 feet away were two people, one with their hands on their hips and the other with their arms folded.  As I got closer it almost looked like they were security guards standing guard over the two kids.  As I passed I realized it was most likely the kids Mom and Grandmother, they weren’t in conversation, weren’t really watching the kids, just both staring off into space.  It seemed odd, but I said hello as I normally do on my walks and it wasn’t returned, I continued on my walk.  

As most beach walks require, at some point you turn and head back, when I did so, in the distance I could see the kids still working on whatever it was  and noticed that one of the two ladies had left, the other was now sitting, still over 10 feet away from the kids.  As I passed by I could see that the younger of the two women had gone somewhere.  The one sitting was deep into her cell phone.  My path took me right by her, I said hi, again, and she didn’t even notice.  Neither me passing by or the fun the kids were having tore her from whatever was in her phone. 

I try not to judge, maybe there was something of great importance in her life going on and I truly only observed them for a few minutes, but it did get me thinking about engaging with those around you at the moment and disconnecting from the electronics.  

I look at my life and realize I could me more engaged around my 11 grandchildren. I am working on doing so. My wife Pat is so engaged with them when we are together that sometimes I have to weasel my way in. Today was a good reminder to keep working at it.  

So, nothing on RVing today, just a reminder, to shut off the phones and electronics and soak up what the world has going on around you. Engage with the people in your path.  Which is exactly what I am going to do now.