Well, talk about a challenge for most! Abstain from ALL forms of the internet for a 24 hour period…WOW! For me, my job requires that I use the internet on a daily basis, so this had to be done on the weekend.
So, Saturday rolled around and I tried it. Fortunately, it was my daughter’s birthday, so that kept me preoccupied for most of the day, but I did notice things like, after I get my morning coffee, while she was watching cartoons, what was I supposed to do? I can’t check my favorite web sites or look at my e-mail. So after a few minutes of wonder and some time watching Sponge Bob with her (time well spent, I might add…she love it!). I decided to make sure that I had everything for the party ready, but I couldn’t check the list I had made in Excel. Fortunately, I wasn’t new to this party thing, so I had a pretty good idea of what I needed…she’s only turning 6 after all, how hard could it be?
The most amazing thing though was when I needed a phone number for her party…I realized I don’t have a phone book. You know one of those thick, bound books that contains white and yellow pages for all kinds of things? I’m not sure that I would even know how to use one anymore anyway.
So off I went in search of the receipt hoping that their number was on it. It turned out that it was, so I narrowly escaped that one and it filled my time looking for that piece of paper. In thinking about it though, I was lucky that I kept that receipt, since normally I wouldn’t have: everything I ever need is on-line.
My dependence on the internet was also apparent when my sister called me late in the morning asking why I didn’t respond to her e-mail. All she wanted was to know if she needed to bring anything to the party and instead of calling me, she e-mailed? And when I didn’t respond she was concerned! Have we lost personal contact that much?
All in all though, the party turned out great and I only forgot a few things. Who really needs baby wipes and hand sanitizer anyway? Just for the record though, I would have remembered those things if I had been able to check my electronic list!
In the end, I decided that my dependency definitely runs deep! On Sunday, I spent a far longer amount of time on the computer, with my morning coffee, “catching-up” on everything I felt like I had missed the day before! Definitely an eye-opening experience…
