It's been close to 6 months since I've posted here. The summer turned into a very busy, and very life-changing season for me for many, many reasons. Partly we went without any internet access at all for around 3 months, plus I did some travelling for Wal-mart to make some extra money to help pay for some of the things that are going on around here. During my time sans-web I was able to do quite a bit of re-evaluating of what is important to me, what I want, and what I need to treat as a priority.
Family *has* to be #1, and should be treated as such. Sitting at the computer for hours and days on end means that many other things in my life are being over-looked. Being here is *not* a job for me... it's entertainment and relaxation. I would love to be able to spend more time on my designs and such, but for the time being, I need to focus my energies elsewhere for my family to survive. This doesn't mean that I'm going to give up designing, as it is a necessary outlet for my creativity, it means that creating and writing patterns for publication are no longer my ultimate goal when designing.
I promised myself this summer that when I got my net back that I was going to cut back. I discovered that there *is* life beyond the keyboard and monitor. I have spent my first few weeks with internet access again going through many of the pastimes I have online. I went through Facebook and deleted a bunch of apps that I didn't use, and were just cluttering up my page. Ravelry was the biggest potential timesink I had online, and therefore got the biggest cuts from me. I went from over 450 groups, to less than 80. I am still not participating in the forums there yet, but I am getting to where I want to be with it... using it as a resource for what I really want to do and believe in, as well as a journal for my projects, stash and the like. I still have more cuts to do, but I'm getting there a little at a time.
I am happy, and actually quite relieved, about giving all this up. It's like a huge weight is being taken off of my shoulders. I'm actually gaining so much more than what I'm losing. I'm very happy spending time in my garden or the yard, or even just sitting on the couch knitting or playing DS while Derek plays his Xbox or watching TV. I am also looking very forward to what my future holds for me, since I won't miss out on it with my nose stuck to the monitor!!! I will still spend time online, as it's the main means of contact with most of my friends... I don't think I would be able to give up the net entirely even though I can obviously take extended breaks from it! I am happily going to be AFK most of the time, and enjoying every moment of it!
