Wednesday, February 7, 2018

BENJI Do you remember when your parents would approach you while you were playing, reading, or watching tv? You would hear them talking but only retain half of it and only respond in unintelligible grunts and uh-huh’s. It was then that they would ask for…you guessed it… our undivided attention. I remember how cliché that sounded to me, yet wouldn’t you know, fast forward a few decades and here I am using it with my own kids. In this age of technology and general busy-ness, with the number of different screens to divide our attention among, this phrase has only gotten more relevant. Now, before we go and buy into the stereotype that attention division only ails rambunctious kiddos and mood teens, let’s take a step back and ask ourselves how often we as adults take family recreation time to tend to work matters or check email, must ask our spouse to repeat themselves or even shooed away our child because we were too focused on a screen. May we not place our undivided attention on something that will end up dividing us from those who we love and love us in return.