One can find me at family functions scrolling through Facebook, posting on Instagram or sending snapchats to my close friends. But with each year of passing, I have came to realize that screen time should not be mixed with family time.

So I challenge myself, and you the reader, to put the phones and tablets of your family members in a basket and place them on a shelf.

Why? Because it can be hard to realize that life is actually happening right in front of us when social media has become so ingrained into our everyday life that “Facebook life” is the same as reality. 

I know for me, the last couple of years my family has changed. Aunts have married, grandchildren have moved, teenagers became adults and grandparents retired. 

Your children and family members may thank you some day for asking them to drop the technology. Because it really is the little things in life that make us who we are, including family traditions and relationships with loved ones. Don’t let memories be hindered because of a small bright screen. 

Don’t miss out on hearing a story about grandpa — that you will remember forever — because you were liking a picture on Instagram of a girl you met once. Drop the technology and just relish in the here and now — the holidays with family.