Dinner. TV. And Something I Miss (Just a Little).
This evening, I had one of those small, quiet observations — the kind that creeps up on you just as you’re winding down for the day and thinking about maybe crawling into bed with a book (or a bit of Rookie).
Isn’t it strange how things change?
I don’t mean to sound old. (Although if I have to start a sentence like that, I probably am sounding old…) But there was a time — not that long ago, really — when families had dinner, cleared the table, and then sat down together to watch an episode of something on TV.
Just that.
Not watching while also scrolling.Not watching while also matching tiny coloured blobs on a screen.Not watching while also texting, folding laundry, replying to work emails, or shouting reminders from the couch.
Just... watching. Together.
I remember being particularly annoyed that in our house, this sacred screen-time moment was reserved for Fridays and Saturdays. Why? Because school night, of course. No exceptions. All the way up until I left home at 18. But that made it special, didn’t it? A sort of ritual. A weekly marker. Something to look forward to.
And when we watched, we really watched.
I don’t know when that shifted. I don’t think it was all at once. More like a quiet drift into multitasking — into second screens and background noise and half-presence.
These days we “watch” something while:
Answering emails
Playing Candy Crush
Doodling on the iPad
Checking WhatsApp
Mindlessly scrolling
Thinking about laundry
And occasionally pausing to actually look up
Even when we’re physically in the same room, our attention is fractured into tiny distracted pieces.
And maybe that’s what I’m really missing: the ability to just be in a moment, fully. To let one thing take up the whole of my attention. No distractions, no guilt. Just presence.
I think that’s why I love the Cantal region so much. There, life feels quieter. Heavier, but in a good way — grounded. Real. Like living.
So maybe that’s the goal — not to go back, not to ban devices, but to remember that sometimes, the most nourishing thing is to do just one thing… and actually be there for it.
Even if it’s just for one episode. No distractions.