Our internet has been down since we got back from vacation and our laptop died last week. One of our cars has been acting up and we left my parents in a puff of smoke on our way to drop it off at the dealership from which it may never return.
I’m sitting in the corner of our library on the computer labeled “guest” and every fifteen minutes I have to walk over to the headphoned teenager at the desk and ask if he could extend my computer time for one more session. I’ve missed writing and my fingers hitting the keyboard and since I’m here without kids I’ll add in that I’ve missed hearing my fingers hit the keyboard.
The past week has not been full of my finest moments. There is no laptop to distract my kids, no iPad to hand someone when they need quiet time and the voice recognition software on the customer service lines for our car, computer and internet have trouble discerning what exactly I need over the sound of my children crying for high fructose corn syrup at 9 am.
I’ve been apologizing my way through missed writing deadlines and trying to keep up a fraction of my social media work by standing in that one spot in my house where my phone gets a great signal.
But really we’ve been okay. Our anniversary was Tuesday and sans babysitter, we pep talked the kids through a semi-sane dinner and it was nice. It was nice.
We’re four days into the no car, no internet, no computer life and even though I haven’t churned butter or tried on bonnets I kind of like it a little. Once I made a truce with the fact that nothing was going to be fixed or returned anytime soon I dug into the just being here and it’s good.
I made play dough (don’t get too excited, it turned into glue and I had to hose everyone off) and those muffins where you disguise the veggies but your kids don’t notice (they did) and I’ve already read two books (one good and one even better). We set up the sprinkler this morning so the kids could fight over who hit who with a drop of water and at day four they’re completely done mourning the loss of our internet.
I’m pretty sure this is one of those weeks I will look back on and miss. The year will get busy and our SUV will be full of dvd-watching kids again and I will be trying to squeeze in time to return emails and I will like this week right now better than that one right then.
It’s nice.
I think I’ll try to like it now instead of looking back and loving it later.
How is your summer going? What have I missed during my week on the prairie? What are you reading?
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McKenna is beautiful in the tub!
Wow! That is so frustrating! Hope your technology returns soon. If not, you always have churning butter in your back pocket!
Oh my gosh, I can’t imagine how frustrating all of that must be, and isolating. But also. … nice. I’m glad you’ve made peace with it, at least for now. 🙂
I’ve given myself up almost completely to family this summer…for better or worse.
I’m letting it be better, for the most part.
I have only a few summers left with them under my roof and years (and years and years, hopefully) to be worried about writing, promoting, building a platform.
As much as I get frustrated on occasion when I’m midway (or most of the way) through the weeks when Jack and Karly are home alldayallthetimebutnotreallyitjustseems that way, I look at them and smile and realize they’re halfway gone already.
I will savor what I have now. AND love it later.
Yes.
I giggled that they noticed the veggies in the muffins. 😀
I am reading “Orange is the New Black” and Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings”.
Glad you’ve had a good week, even if it was a little crazy. 🙂
Beautiful tub shot!