Are Parents too Reliable on Technology?

 

So yesterday, around 3pm, the snow began falling!  And this wasn't one of those little flurry snows...it was a full-out blizzard kind of snow!  Between the wind and the amount of snow falling, I couldn't bear to stay out there for more than about 10 minutes to take the little guy sledding in it! "Okay, that was fun...now it's dark out, I'm warm and it's time to get the kiddos to sleep".  Oh if only it had been that simple.  I decide to hop in the hot shower, along with my son and 'BAM'!!  BLACK! PITCH BLACK.  He starts freaking out and I can barely find the knobs to turn off the water.  We did finally make it out and my husband came to our rescue with some flashlights and candles.

At this point, lil guy did not have any interest in going to bed! It was like an instant adrenalin rush for him.  I think it was a similar scenario for my husband, who immediately began shoveling the driveway, hauling in wood and starting a fire in the fireplace downstairs.  I saw this as a chance to relax. No internet, no television and my phone had died, so I was completely cut off from the outside world.  "What the heck do I do now?"  Normally I would put the kids in bed, and then turn on E! to see if there are any good shows on and flip open the lap top to catch up with my facebook, twitter and maybe type up a blog of what I did that day.  Instead, I lay in bed with both my little boys, cuddling them in my arms to try and keep them warm, for it wasn't taking long for the temperature to drop upstairs.  Once they fell asleep, I cracked open a book (Jennifer Weiner's Little Earthquakes: A Novel (Washington Square Press) and then fell asleep before midnight... which doesn't happen very often. 

I woke up this morning, only to find that the temperature had now gotten down to 55 degrees in our house and the fire had gone out in the middle of the night.  Brrrr!! I hate the cold!! But luckily I have a great husband who had spent half the night shoveling the driveway so he could get the car out and he was able to drive down the street to get us some Panera and my morning coffee of course!!  The power then came on shortly after he returned, which I was very pleased about, but at the same time, I was a little sad that our adventure of trying to live like people did back before electricity, had come to an end.  Before I know it, my kid's got Spongebob on tv, my husband has got his Call of Duty on playstation 3 downstairs and yes....I'm on my computer typing a blog post.  

How long would our society today last without technology? I think people would lose their minds at first, but then it would be pretty relaxing.  Even if you think back to as early as 10 years ago, we didn't have facebook, where you could sign on to check in on every friend or relative you've ever known.  We survived just fine then.  But we rely on cell phones, tvs and internet almost to the point where it's a little ridiculous, I think.  Would any of you be able to survive without these things for a day...or better yet, what about a month?  It's crazy to think that people used to live everyday like that.  I don't think I could do it!  In the end though, I had a fun time with my family, sitting by the fire to keep warm and snuggling them in bed with me all night.  But I sure am glad to have my coffee maker and my internet back on! ;)