Off the grid

Going off the grid is not something I'm not very comfortable with doing.  It happens from time to time, but generally, I like the idea that my cell phone can connect me to someone in an instant.

When I was leaving the Bridge Retreat on Wednesday morning, my cell phone suddenly stopped functioning.  I'd had the Note II for a couple of years or more, and I loved it & it had been reliable.  

I had planned to do a wellness check on our cabin, 

but without a working phone, I would not take the risk.

So, when I got back to Rice Lake from Up North, I tried a couple of fixes that I found  on Google, but to no avail.  Next, I called the Sprint Store in Eau Claire and of course, they  suggested I come in and they would try to help me fix the phone or replace it with a new one.

Quickly, I got the car unpacked and then drove off to Eau Claire.

Matt, my technician, was nice & very helpful in explaining the new phones and plans.

After some diagnostics, it was soon time to shop for a new phone.

I love gadgets and technology so while this is an inconvenience and an expense I don't need, I rather enjoy having new fun toys.  Since I keep most of my data on either the mini SD card in the phone or in Dropbox memory, I wasn't worried about losing anything important off my old phone which was good since nothing was accessible now.

As the technician was activating the new Samsung Note 4 phone it occurred to me that I had saved all the text messages that I had sent over the weekend when Dad had his surgery, became critically ill and died.  I had always planned to somehow reconstruct my activities & communications during that period of time but had not found the time or right frame of mind to face remembering each detail.

I asked Matt if my saved text messages would be accessible, 

but he said unfortunately all would be lost since the old phone was DOA.

I was disappointed and relieved all in the same moment.  

As much as I thought I wanted to read all those text messages again, there is not one thing I can change about the sequence of events of that weekend.

And so it goes. 

Coincidentally, the monument folks have added Dad's date of death to the bench at the cemetery.

And so...

Life is better on the grid.

I know can't change the past.

Letting it all go is both hard and also liberating.

Life is Good.