I have been taking some time out to recharge my personal battery. It has been good for me to take this opportunity to review where I am now and what direction I want to take in the future.

About a month ago I had my laptop sitting on the table beside my chair. I had a plastic glass with a lid and straw filled with water. I got up to do something so set the glass on top of the closed laptop. That was my first mistake.

I got busy and went out for the day. When I came home and sat down in my chair I noticed there was water on the floor. Then I saw the glass I had left full was now empty. It was not knocked over it was still there where I left it. So I concluded it must have had a small leak. What a shock! I grabbed my computer and when I lifted the lid water ran down the screen then under the keyboard. I quickly wiped it all off and thought I had saved it from further damage so I turned it on to see if if still worked and Ta Da it came on. That was my second mistake.

After a minute the screen went black and it lost all power. Sh**. It was an Apple Lap top not even two years old and I had just made the last payment on it. I was sick. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I contacted the Apple Store and took it in to be repaired. Sadly there was no repairing it. It would have cost as much to replace the parts as it would to be buy a new one. So I handed it in for recycling. That was my third mistake.

I learned some hard lessons through this experience.

At first I was devastated and then I relaxed about it and decided to take some time to recharge and learn to live without it. Thankfully I had saved everything on the Cloud so I could still access my files. I accepted my fate and moved on. I have an IPAD and a good friend gave me a keyboard to use with it. I also have my IPHONE. I decided to make do because there were no funds available for another laptop. So for about a month I was offline more often than not. My writing suffered as I was so used to writing on a laptop and the IPAD was not a big enough screen for me to see well enough. So I stopped writing. That was my fourth mistake.

As a writer and someone who lives alone technology has become my lifeline. I no longer enjoy handwriting and transcribing. I prefer to write on the computer. So I began to grieve the loss of my laptop in a way that was quite surprising to me and also a gift. I looked deeper inside to learn what it was about the loss that was so hard for me. Some of it was financial. I no longer had the financial resources to replace my laptop. That took me into a deeper hole of fear of lack and self recrimination about being in such a tight spot.

My writing always helps me to connect with myself and others in a way that simple conversation does not always afford. So not being able to connect through writing is very hard for me. After a month I was at a real loss and needed help to find a solution. So the lesson here was that I needed to stay connected via technology for my own health and well being.

I decided to ask for help with my dilemma. I was very specific with my request. I wanted a used laptop that someone may not be using any more and was willing to either lend me or give away. I was hoping for an Apple Laptop as it communicates with my other devices and would be happy with a PC. I put it out into the Universe and two days later a friend from my church arrived with his old Apple Laptop for me. It was a gift not a loan. WOW! I was so happy I was in tears. I had a new life line.

The time without a computer was good for me. I created new habits and routines for going out for walks when I may have preferred to be in writing on my computer. I called and chatted with friends instead of emailing. I was out in the community more and getting to know my new neighbours.

Spring had sprung and I was ready to recharge my own battery. The story of the drowned laptop was a good metaphor for me to review and look into its deeper meaning for me. Perhaps there is a story to be written from that. Lesson learned keep all liquids away from technical devices!