Back Up Files

The verdict is out. Our computer has died. It was sudden. Yet it wasn't ...

The computer has been running terribly, terribly slow for quite some time now. I had my Computer Guy come out in November and he made some valiant attempts to speed things up. But things didn't change much. We just adapted to the slowness.

So perhaps the computer was 'ill' for quite some time. We had our Computer Doctor make a service call. All was done that could be done at the time. Thankfully I asked for some advice as to how to back up our files. I am even more grateful that I followed through on this advice. I backed up our computer on November 28, 2012. Everything that we have written, worked on, updated and downloaded since that time is in serious jeopardy of being lost. Forever.

Ever since this became a remote possibility of being true, I have walked through the hours of my day and caught myself remembering yet another important file or document or creation that could be gone. Anxiety is wanting to rear its ugly head and then I remember that I saved everything up until November. A lot could be lost. But not everything.

I worked on my dad's family history book a little bit since I backed up our files. I have been beating myself up for not working longer, harder and more diligently on this project. If I had done so, I could have lost it all. At least I have what I saved. Up until November 28th ...

I do not have a 'back up' for all that I have done in 2013. My daycare files. My column files. My ongoing financial information ...

My Youngest Son had pictures, homework assignments and projects that he is in jeopardy of losing. He was so grateful to hear that everything prior to December has been saved. He will lose a little. But not everything.

I have not heard a word from my Computer Doctor since he took our computer home with him to see what he could salvage. At first, he told me that there was a 50/50 chance that we 'lost it all'. As we talked more he admitted that it was less than a 50/50 chance. In his last breath he said something to the effect that it could be far less than those odds. He has prepared me for the worst.

No news is not necessarily good news. While the verdict is still out, there is still hope. I will hold onto that. While I hang onto that thread of hope, I am constantly reminding myself of how grateful that I am to have backed up our files when I did. I am berating myself for not following through on my instinct and backing them up more recently.

Never put off to tomorrow what instincts tell you to do today. I am lucky. This is just 'computer stuff'. As important as it feels at the moment, I know that all is not lost. Not really. I have back up files ...

That is what my writing is to me. My back up files. I have been slightly obsessed with the fragility of the human brain since my dad's brain injury. Life is fragile. Memories can be lost forever. In a heartbeat ...

'Back up your files'. Today. In whatever way works best for you. Pictures. Telling your stories to others. Notations on a calendar. Saving little notes, cards and tokens. Write. Do something to preserve all that is precious to you. You never know when you may lose what you take for granted ...