If you’re reading this in the printed newspaper, good for you!
Sitting down with your local paper is one of the great, timeless delights of life. Add a cup of coffee, a family member (of the human or housepet variety), a window out of which to watch the sun, rain or Washington springtime mix, and you have a fine few moments, indeed.
And this is a great weekend for such old-fashioned entertainments as we are invited to turn off our devices and turn on the people, places, difficulties and all-five-senses experiences of real life. Yes, it’s finally time for the first Lewis County Thriving Generation Screen-Free Weekend. I hope it becomes a regular tradition.
I want to thank three local public servants who are helping steer their school districts and our community in a savvy direction by leading with clarity and purpose to give our kids a less screen-heavy childhood. We adults need that, too.
Chehalis School Board Director Kelsi Hamilton, Centralia School Board Director Deb Parnham, and Mossyrock School Director Teresa Ekdahl-Johnson led this effort for a screen-free weekend.
This vision is powerful and I’m so grateful for it.
And let’s all take a moment to celebrate that Lewis County still has a thriving community newspaper. So many places don’t. Before Facebook, before TV, before smartphones and even dumb phones, newspapers were where communities talked, shared information, and got their acts together. Maybe it’s time to return to a little more of that.
And so this weekend, I respectfully invite you to join me in shaking off the digital fog (it’s thick around almost all of us these days, myself included). Find a secluded corner somewhere to gently set your phone, tablet or laptop. Plug it in, tuck it in if that’s what it takes, and say “I’ll see you on Sunday.”
Let’s lead our children by example.
Greet a neighbor. Smell a flower. Head into town and see what’s going on. Meet a buddy for a cinnamon roll. Feel free to stand in the corner with your phone (still plugged in — go old-school corded phone for a minute) and give an old friend a phone call. Try talking instead of texting.
There are a million ways to live. Let’s try them out again.
Say hello to real life.
It’s going to be a great weekend.
Brian Mittge
Chehalis
