In the Face of Technology

Oh technology, you can be such a thorn in my side. Don't get me wrong. I love how I can find the answer to a question at the click of a button, see what my family is doing across the country, and video chat with my nephew a few hours away. But you have torn such a big hole in socializing. Yeah... we can facebook, twitter, pinterest, and blog our hearts away. Social networking sites are awesome, and they only keep getting better. Do I want to go without them? No way. When you live in the country with no neighbors, spend all day taking care of your husband at home, and don't get to be a part of many social events because your husband doesn't handle social situations very positively anymore, technology can be your best friend. But what about socializing with my husband? We sit on our separate computers at night. I sit on the chaise. He sits on the couch. We each have a laptop on our laps, searching away for what? Yes, I am going to school online. If it wasn't for you, technology, I wouldn't be able to get this degree. I spend much of that time doing schoolwork. But what about when I'm not? What about all the hours we spend not talking to each other because we're so engrossed in our own computer world? And then, as if that's not enough technology for us, we can seldom go in a restaurant without him taking his Motorola Xoom (an android version of the iPad). If he doesn't take that, he has his phone out the whole time. We don't go to restaurants often, so for me that is a great time to enjoy each other. We are together 24/7, but we are never really together. I feel like I am constantly working by either doing housework, taking care of him, or doing school, and when I am not doing that stuff I "hang out with my friends" on social networking sites. He has his own social networking sites that he literally spends about 8-10 hours each day on... although his are more like "Ford Truck Enthusiasts" and stuff like that. When our plans for this weekend got changed unexpectedly, we decided to head to the lake to get our boat dewinterized. We figured we would then take it out on the water and enjoy some peaceful time together before lake season hits and there are drunks everywhere. We stopped at this little cafe for breakfast, and the first thing he did when we sat down (even before looking at the menu) was take out his Xoom and start looking at Ford Truck Enthusiasts. I decided what I wanted, and then I sat there staring at the wall while he scrolled through his social networking site. After about 15 minutes he realized what he was doing. When he put it away, we didn't know how to have an actual conversation with each other. We don't "date" anymore. We don't know what that's all about. The last few "dates" we had were me making him a special dinner and we ate it at the table without the television on. As soon as we were finished, though, the tv was right back on. I bet it has been at least 8 or 10 months since we have gone out on a date. I long for dates... technology free dates.

And don't even get me started about enjoying the great outdoors. We have a pretty cool firepit because where we live it is a must. We can't sit around that firepit without him on his Xoom. Last weekend we were up in my hometown. We went to my brother and sister-in-law's house and sat around their firepit. My husband had his Xoom out the majority of the time. He hardly even noticed the fire. When we go visit my parents, that Xoom gets more use than it can handle. Talk about anti-social! And camping... oh camping.... we don't even know what real camping is these days. We sit in the air conditioned camper with our laptops and tablets, cook in the camper kitchen, and watch movies on the tv inside the camper. We might as well stay at home. Can't we just go do some real camping without the technology???

So, in closing to you, dear technology, thank you for everything you have made possible. But sometimes won't you please just get the heck out of my life, even if only for a couple of hours?

Sincerely,
Desparate for a Real Date with my Real Love