Today’s make something prompt begged me to go outdoors:

Work only with natural materials to make something that would not normally be found in nature.

I’m not particularly outdoorsy on a good day. And given today’s ridiculously low temperatures and dangerous wind chill factors, I was not about to step outside to create something. Had I been willing, you might be looking at an inventive snow sculpture or a stick figure made of actual sticks.

Nope.

Fortunately, in clear view of our dining room table is a can of shells the kids and I collected when we visited San Diego last spring. That vacation was a delightfully “unplugged” week of beach exploration, physical activity, culinary adventure, happy relaxation, and simple togetherness. It didn’t hurt that the resort’s internet connectivity was terrible. We had to talk and laugh and play “real” games—the ones involving pieces on a table, not pixels on a screen.

I’ll always treasure that week with my three children. They remember it fondly, too, and we fantasize about making it happen again … soon.

As much as I love my online life, there’s just no substitute for the connections that happen away from dot-com.