Back in the day, when I had school projects to research, I checked the library or our families set of trusty encyclopedias for information. What I turned in was either handwritten on ruled paper, or for a more polished look, painstakingly typed out with a manual machine. Although an empty pen or some misplaced whiteout might slow me down, technology could in no way prevent me from completing my assignments.

Today, however, things are a little bit different. We found that out this week as school began. My son had to research something online for a class. My daughter had a paper on her desktop computer that needed to be emailed to a teacher. On top of that, my husband needed to make travel arrangements for a departure less than 12 hours away. Everyone was managing just fine until we lost our Internet connection.

As our family went into crisis mode, I scrambled to reinstate our service. No immediate solution presented itself, and as I brainstormed repair tactics, I soon discovered it wasn’t going to be a quick or easy fix.

Although life went on in the Staak household, even without our electronic ties to the world, we felt helpless and lost without it. Our dependency on the Internet truly became apparent as we found ourselves cut off from its conveniences. In this day and age, a lost connection can turn into quite a crisis. Even still, I don’t miss the old typewriter one bit!

–Sheri Staak