The Cat

The Indians around here tell a cautionary fable about a great saint who was always surrounded in his Ashram by loyal devotees. For hours a day, the saint and his followers would meditate on God. The only problem was that the saint had a young cat, an annoying creature, who used to walk through the temple meowing and purring and bothering everyone during meditation. So the saint, in all his practical wisdom, commanded that the cat be tied to a pole outside for a few hours a day, only during meditation, so as to not disturb anyone. This became a habit--tying the cat to the pole and then meditating on God--but as years passed, the habit hardened into religious ritual. Nobody could meditate unless the cat was tied to the pole first. Then one day the cat died. The saint's followers were panic-stricken. It was a major religious crisis--how could they meditate now, without a cat to tie to a pole? How would they reach God? In their minds, the cat had become the means.

-Elizabeth Gilbert

Happy Birthday Junebug

Dear June,

Today you turn three, at 10:30 p.m. Every time your birthday rolls around, your Dad and I say, "Happy June's Birthday" to one another remembering how great that day was. I woke up at midnight when my water broke (you'll learn about that later) and was so excited I could barely sleep. I started having contractions then, and at 6:00 a.m. Krista (you know Krista, Hewitt's mom) came to our house to hang out with Mom and Dad. We went out to breakfast (contractions ten minutes apart), went shopping for bodycare products (still eight minutes apart), and decided to get our hair cut (you will notice in the birth photos that Mommy has exceptional hair). While the stylist was blowdrying my hair, my contractions were four minutes apart. I called our midwife and at 4:30 p.m. Krista, Dad and I were back at the apartment to start some serious work.

Six hours later, you were born.

And 35 lbs, 40", and three years later, we are so happy you're here.

I love you June!

31 Days

One month can go by remarkably fast, even when you've chosen to refuse the internet.

Well, let me be honest, I had some moments of cheating. I realized one day, for instance, that I own no phone book and that the only way for me to find a phone number I didn't happen to have was via the internet. Somehow 411 completely escaped my mind until my mother reminded me of the option a few days later when I admitted my lapse to her.

I also turned to Netflix watch instantly some nights with Fred.

Other than that, I was remarkably true to the internet-free pact I made. And this is what I discovered:

I did not miss Facebook. No offense, and this isn't to say that I'm not going to use it from here on out, but I did not for one second miss it.

I read a lot more than I would have otherwise.

I wrote actual letters and remembered how much I love writing actual letters.

I actually started knitting again.

I felt able to concentrate when not pulled by the attraction of internet surfing.

I write a lot more when I am not online, which is good; which lead to some actual stories, new stories, that I actually like.

I missed my blog.


So, here we are again. Back to the internet. Back to Hulu. Back to Amazon. Back to email and Facebook and Twitter. Back to the real world.