It’s National Day of “Unplugging”

How a jigsaw puzzle brought me sweet relief from my screen.

While the majority of us can’t unplug on a Friday, I will make sure I unplug a bit early. 

We’ve had a jigsaw puzzle going for months now. Not surprisingly it’s been buried under various electronic devices. 

Americans, like probably most folks around the world, spend a lot of time staring at screens — computers, tablets and mobiles — not to mention television screens, and they are all raking up some serious hours. 

All of the apps and ease of online ordering were created to make our lives simpler but I worry we’re not talking to each other anymore, unless it’s online. 

We’re not just logging on for work or social media these days. So much of our entire lives are now online — dinner dates and family reunions, coffee chats, teaching our kids, talking with grandparents, even depositing checks — everything is online. 

In September 2020, so smack dab in the middle of the pandemic, a survey of 2,000 Americans found 53 percent of respondents were feeling burnt out on screens— little did any of us know we’d be in the same position six months later with no true end in sight. I do wonder how those 2,000 fared. 

So, tonight, we’re putting down the screens, picking up the puzzle pieces (and a couple glasses of wine), and just talking.