I was in Chicago with family for most of this past week and tried to stay off the laptop I brought along in case of a blogging emergency (no idea what that could be, but better safe than sorry). It was surprisingly easy to go relatively Internet free. I had scheduled items to post here for most of the time I was away, and figured a day or two with nothing new would be fine.
What I didn't count on was how out of the loop I would feel without making the reading rounds, checking pageviews, reviewing comments. So a time or two, early in the morning, I'd quickly log on, do my thing, and log off.
Then, on Friday we were visiting with a high school friend I hadn't seen in about 10 years. Apropos of nothing, Colter announced to her family and mine, "My mommy spends too much time in front of the computer. She doesn't spend enough time with me." I calmly asked Colter whether he really felt that way and when he said, "Yes," my friend said, "It's never enough."
Colter confirmed her opinion as soon as we arrived home tonight. I had agreed to set the timer and spend only 30 minutes online, then watch the "Rugrats" marathon with him. So, OK, I went a little over (40 minutes over), but it's been awhile, so I had a lot of spam to delete.
When I finished, I went into the living room and asked Colter, "So, how'd I do on vacation? Not too much time online, right?" And he said, "You did bad. Remember that one time you logged on? That morning?" I said, "One time? That's it?" He said, "Yes."
So, it's official. I can never be the mother Colter wants. What a relief. Does that mean I can stop trying? Maybe I can remember to be the mother he needs, instead.
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