No more screens

Josh and I have decided to have an electronic shut-down time each day. We found ourselves sitting next to each other every night with the TV on and our phones or computers in hand. It was a habit we wanted to break because on the nights we didn’t stay on electronics we found ourselves having incredible conversations.

Recognizing that burying ourselves in a screen wasn’t healthy for our relationship has been such an amazing blessing.

Last night simply re-affirmed how I feel about us shutting off the screens.

I was pretty emotional. It was one of those nights where the simple thought of something negative or sad would stick with me and numerous times Josh would catch me with full eyes. Those times are hard. I know that whatever thoughts are in my head are out of my control and generally not even realistic, but that doesn’t stop the feelings from following.

Josh was finishing up the last of the kitchen and I was at my breaking point. I didn’t want to speak and I was still trying to hide the tears. For the first time in our relationship, Josh sat next to me and rather than trying to prevent me from crying, he welcomed it.

I was super caught off guard. He usually goes to extreme lengths to prevent the tears or tries to tell me that crying won’t make the situation change or make me feel better. But not last night.

Last night Josh told me he wanted me to just express how I was feeling and if that meant crying he wanted me to let it go, that he knew I needed to express myself in the way that was healthy and natural for me.

It stopped me in my tracks. I looked at him and asked what brought him to that conclusion. He simply said that he realizes that the way he handles things isn’t the only “right” way and that he wants to stop pushing his ideas on emotional expression.

I fell even more in love in that moment. (And of course started to bawl).

We sat there for a good twenty minutes and talked about how we are different in the ways we express things and tried to help each other understand our preference. It was awesome.

The things that happen when you take away unnecessary distractions are truly remarkable. Removing the screens is helping our marriage to dive deeper and improve. I love it.