My husband and I will (hopefully) celebrate 30 years of wedded bliss on February 15, 2011. These years have been blessed with 4 beautiful children and 5 wonderful, healthy, and geourgous grand-daughters.
There has been laughter, joy, tears, fights, good times and bad. But we have always held on to our absolute love for one another and the comfort found in each other's arms. That was until.....
This past Christmas my family gave me the best/worst gift ever. I need to start out telling you that I am a technology junkie. As I sit here writing this post I am surrounded by:
- A lap top computer
- A cell phone
- An IPOD and the new gift...
- NOOK COLOR
Over the course of the last 30 years, as you might imagine, I have received numerous wonderful (and not so wonderful) gifts from my beloved family. Every year at Christmas time I think long and hard about what I might want my family to give me. The family badgers me until I come up with an idea that they like, not small things like slippers, (although I do love me some slippers) or a new sweater, but a GIFT!
Because of my technology addiction I have in recent years been asking that the family pitch in for whatever new "toy" I may want. This enables them to give me what they know I will enjoy as well as saves them money because they can all pitch in for whatever toy I have on my list.
I was debating getting an e-reader and researched many different ones. At one point I thought I wanted and IPAD, but decided that the cost was just not something I could justify given that I get my e-mail on my phone, surf the web on my phone and my IPOD and so on.
Now in addition to my techi-addiction, I am addicted to BOOKS. I have boxes and boxes and book shelf after book shelf filled with BOOKS. The books on my shelves are like old friends that I sometimes read over and over again. Those that are in boxes are awaiting delivery to the local nursing home/assisted living facility or library. As you might imagine these books are taking up a lot of room in my home and they are really, really heavy! So the NOOK became my gift of choice.
Now this past year has been a struggle in our household. My business has suffered as has any business related to real estate and my husband's job has hung in the balance for the past year while we wait for news about whether or not the steel mill he has worked at for the last 37 years will close down or be sold again. So while I really was hoping for the NOOK I did not think it would show up this year because of financial constraints. (My children's wallets were thin this year too)
Well, the family rallied, got the NOOK for me and I could not be happier. I have spent hours selecting books from my local library for free download to the NOOK; I spend every Friday evening at B & N reading for free in store, downloading free content and talking to other NOOKIES. I spend hours then reading the books surfing the web, and checking my e-mail. My NOOK is my new best friend. I take it everywhere I go and I feel like I have forgotten something important if I don't feel it's weight in my purse. I am addicted.
My husband has taken to calling the NOOK my electronic lover. I know that sounds horrible, but I see his point really I do. I get so caught up in the book or the web-site or the crossword puzzle that I have been neglecting my poor dear husband. He asked me if a divorce was possible using the "alienation of affection" defense due to electronic overload. With that I got a wake up call. DIVORCE, over a NOOK!
I need a twelve step program I think. I am on step one. I have admitted I have a problem. I have tried to leave the NOOK in inconvenient places while my beloved is around, I have tried not picking it up while he is trying to talk to me, I have tried ignoring the "ding" of my e-mail telling me that a book I placed on hold at the library is available for download. I am failing. I need help.
If anyone can put me on the path to recovery I would appreciate it. I love my dear husband more than I can say and I REALLY want to celebrate 30 years of marriage, but I fear this may be the last straw. I have 2 weeks to get well or we will celebrate our 30 year anniversary in the office of the divorce attorney rather than at the restaurant we have selected for our celebration!
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