We are a family on the move and one of the tasks that had to be done before we did was cancel our phone and internet service.  This had to be accomplished about ten days before we moved out of our house.  No phone, no problem.  I hardly use the thing anyway.  No internet?  What?  Are you serious?  Okay, initial shock passed and my senses come back slowly.

I figured I could go about half an evening without the internet before I got the shakes… and I was right.  About halfway through the first evening, I started getting these strange urges to update the Twitter and my facebook status about how rough it was to be without the internet.  Oh, wait.  Argh!  I can’t update my statuses without the internet!

The fact is, I’m really not on the internet all the time.  I actually get very bored when I try to surf without a real purpose.  And, now that I’m not in any on-line classes, there is nothing officially tying me to the internet for extended periods of time.  So, why the angst?  I’ve thought about it and have come to believe that the internet has become a sort of “security blanket” for me.  Weird, huh?  It’s not that I have to be on the internet every waking moment.  It’s in the knowing that the internet is available to get a recipe for that late night craving for a caramel macchiato, or when the need for a light hearted laugh calls for clips of Family Ties on YouTube.  I guess I’ve just grown accustomed to it being there whenever I need it.

I needed a solution and I needed it soon.  At this point, I did something novel.  I set out two folding chairs in the yard towards the sunset, and sat there with my wife, and we talked.  Whoa!  Is that crazy or what?  No YouTube, no facebook, (added to no television), just husband and wife sitting in the cool evening air talking.  We’ve actually done this most evening over the past week, and it’s quickly becoming one of our favorite rituals.  Why didn’t we do this sooner?  Oh, yeah.  There were too many distractions.  Who would’ve thought that an internet blackout would be such a blessing?