Unplugging

I was off the grid for almost four days and it was amazing! 

Last week, I visited friends in the middle of nowhere. One of the things she likes best about the place is that there is no Internet, even though her family keeps threatening to get it. She loves going off the grid. 

I wasn’t so sure. I’d never been completely out of touch from my family before and with things that have been going on lately, I was nervous, despite the fact that there was a landline phone for emergency use.

Let me tell you, it was fantastic. I’ll be the first to admit that I cheated. I was able to find two small spots in the house where if I positioned my phone just right, I could occasionally get cell service. I used it to check in with my husband to make sure life was still continuing—it was, even though he kept things from me that would have made me worry. I could also use it if I walked up the hill a few hundred yards, or when we went out to eat (or to Boathenge). But I found I really didn’t want to.

In fact, I didn’t want to come back on the grid. The peace of not being connected, of not worrying about what I was missing, since I couldn’t do anything about it anyway, was rejuvenating. Not only did my family have to deal without me—which they were perfectly capable of—but I didn’t have that knee-jerk “oh my god what is wrong” reaction I get whenever I get a text or a phone call. For the first time in months, I was able to breathe.

My attention span was better too. I held better conversations. I read books without stopping every chapter to check on something—other than the location of the sun or the ripples in the water. I’m pretty sure my low blood pressure went even lower. It was beautiful.

Returning to civilization was jarring. Suddenly, I heard about everything I missed. My to-do list expanded in a burst and I had to reassure people that they had indeed survived without me and could do it again.

Now I’m wondering if and when I can.