No Internet

Sometime in late June was my birthday.

I got quite an unexpected gift for my birthday - for some reason our internet went down. My husband and I called our Fios service provider Saturday morning as I couldn't log onto my VPN to work. It was not a quick fix and much to my dismay, annoyance and everything in between Verizon could only send someone out on Monday afternoon.

First of all, why do all these mishaps happen on a Saturday? Why not on a weekday when something can be done about it?

Second of all, No internet!!!!! I could do without food, water and even my car for the entire weekend but how exactly was my family and I to survive the weekend without internet!

I just sat there in my office chair, staring at my blank screen - trying to figure out what to do with myself, all my life energy was sucked away without my beloved window to the world that had so unceremoniously decided to shut me out. All the plans for planning the rest of my week/year/life (that I had to finish) left incomplete. I felt directionless like a boat without a rudder, a meeting without an agenda, a plane without a manifest, an explorer without a map....you get the drift!

My daughter was staring at another blank screen in the living room - "mom nothing seems to be working on the TV, I need to eat my breakfast" she cried in dismay.

"Yes honey, internet is down and it won't get fixed for two whole days." I respond defeated.

"Wait What? No NETFLIX or DISNEY or HULU?" Mom, how did you let this happen? What am I going to do all weekend long?" As if it was my fault. The child won't even let me grieve in peace.

"Well, we yet have our phones!" I responded with more positivity than I felt.

"Mom, we can't watch our shows on the phone sitting in our living room. That's ridiculous"

My husband looks from one face to the other and tries to help - "honey why don't you use your hotspot to get onto the internet from your laptop?"

"That stupid thing keeps disconnecting every 10 minutes, imagine trying to watch something on it. What are you going to do with your Sunday marathon TV session?" I asked him and that helpful face took on a look of dismay of it's own.

My older daughter just then decided to grace us with her presence - "What's going on?" she asks. "Why isn't my music streaming on the Bose speaker? How exactly am I supposed to go for a shower? I need to leave to go run some errands soon."

I just stare at her like she's grown two horns. "Is that all that concerns her?

Aren't you worried about that paper that's due on Monday? How exactly are you planning to complete it?"

"Oh, I have the hotspot for that." she responds nonchalantly and moves to go back into the hole my teenager had just crawled out of.

"Not so fast young lady, we have to figure out how we are going to make this tragedy work for us. When life gives you lemons and all that jazz."

I throw up my hands in an exaggerated gesture and we all stare at each other like four strangers at one of those offsite weekend retreats, wondering what to do with each other in the name of team building.

Realizing this conversation is going nowhere, my husband mumbles something and shuffles his feet towards the door. He has decided he is just going to go to his office and finish up what he was working on.

My teenager talks about the impending doom that is going to befall her, if she doesn't get her errands finished on time and sprints back to her room, leaving my youngest and me staring at each other. I was determined to make this work and not let myself be held hostage by an electronic blip in the universe.

As the day progressed my daughter and I took the dog out for a walk, played games, read a book and even that got too much after a while.

"It feels like we've gone back in time to a village, mom" my daughter stated.

She eventually found a friend she could hang out with and abandoned me to spend some time with her. I pictured my day in darkness without the bright lights of my three monitors giving the much-needed glow.

I spoke to a close friend of mine - who promptly responded with her heartfelt condolences - "I am so sorry honey. If you want you can come to my house and hang out here, please feel free to."

"How about we go for drinks?" I responded.

"Oh honey, you know how Saturday afternoons are - kids yet have activities going on and we are all trying to get our head above water with the household chores that need to be completed. How about we meet for dinner and drinks?"

That was yet 5 hours later. Now what? I think to myself.

I had two options - shopping or meditation. Shopping costs a lot of money so meditation it is.