Connections

The power went out for two hours the other night. Two hours at the end of the day when all that I had hoped to accomplish was done. The two hour power outage felt like 'life' was forcing my hand. Making me sit still and enjoy the moment. It was good. Two hours was long enough.

Yesterday, our telephone, cable and Internet connections were down all day.

Thankfully we went for an early morning walk. I always forward my calls from our home phone number to my cell phone when we leave the house. It is just something that I have gotten into the habit of doing during my daycare hours.

By the time we returned home, all of our connections to the outside world had been severed. Except one. The ability to receive calls people made to my home phone number (and the ability to call out on my cell phone).

If the day is going sour, I often turn on the TV to act as a diversion. Yesterday? Nothing. So I turned on a movie. The kids don't like the "Cars" movie ...

Before nap time, we have a little couch-time ritual. We all sit and watch the "Berenstain Bears" together. We are quiet and still. It is a wonderful time of day. Yesterday? Nothing. We read four "Berenstain Bears" books instead. I had a captive audience of two (out of three). It was a good start to a new ritual.

During nap time, I always turn on the TV. The "Gilmore Girls" and I have a standing date from 2:00 to 3:00. After 3:00, the kids start waking up. It is a routine I know and love. Yesterday? Nothing. I washed a head of lettuce and grated cheese for our supper instead. Not quite as relaxing but it is amazing just how much I appreciated having that little job done and out of the way at the day's end.

I received three calls about my daycare openings. One sounded very promising. It could have been a perfect fit. But I guess I'll never know because they didn't show up to meet me last night. A second family is planning to call me back today (after waiting to see the outcome of last night's scheduled interview with the family that didn't show). I was outwardly relieved that I had accidentally forwarded all calls to my cell phone. That was a large sum of potential income that I stood to lose if I wasn't available to take calls.

It was not until after 5:00, that our connections to the outside world were restored.

The first thing that I did was check for emails. You would think that my life depended on knowing that I was open to receiving any and all emails as soon as they came in. One email awaited me. It was not important.

The second thing that I did, was turn on an episode of the "Berenstain Bears" upon the request of my last daycare charge as he waited for his mom to arrive. He had little to no interest in watching it. He wanted an excuse to bounce off of the couch and watching TV gave him that momentum.

I sat down at the computer and re-established my Internet connections. I had a few things to 'google'. Other than that? I really hadn't missed much by not feeling that tug to access the outside world during the day.

Hmmm...

• An aborted attempt to disconnect from the outside world during my week-long sabbatical from 'life'
• Three days of 'disconnection' during our holiday ... followed by two days of intense 'reconnection'
• Two hours of powerlessness upon our return home
• An entire business day without telephone, Internet or TV

Is the world trying to send me a message? Disconnect, Girl!! These TV, Internet and constant on-call connections are ruling your life!

Each and every time these connections were severed, I found more important things to do. I reconnected to the world around me in ways that didn't cost a penny but were rich in what they offered.

The wireless connections that we have within our world are ones that aren't fueled by a power source. And I'm not talking about WiFi or cell phones...