Dear Inventor Of High-Speed Internet: I Love You.

I have been at my cousin Paige's house almost all day long, helping her start the process of getting her house ready for a little one. We've been cleaning out closets and cabinets, trying to get things a bit more organized so that once she hits the third trimester and enters major nesting mode, she won't feel quite so overwhelmed by what she needs to do.

So all of that has been great - her hubby fixed us a wonderful supper, we've laughed a ton, we've called Sister when we felt like she needed to be laughing with us. And we've gotten a ton done. But do you know one other great benefit of being here?

CABLE MODEM, my friends.

I deliberately avoided sitting down at her computer this afternoon, because I knew if I did, and I saw how fast my email loaded and how quickly I could move through all my daily blog reads, I would look up six hours later in a blog-induced daze and say, "Huh? What? We were cleaning? And you're having a baby? Or something? I don't remember? But hey! Toni is going to see Beth Moore!"

So finally, when we finished up with today's work - though we have more in store tomorrow - I checked my email (oh, the speed with which it loaded), I checked my blog (oh, the ease with which the pictures appeared), and then I started to check the other blogs I read (oh, the frequency with which you people have posted over the last three days).

And I have made my rounds. I read everything - but I didn't comment much because I am exhausted and would probably say something like "Emr. Alskb laks eirs." Which doesn't really enhance the conversation at all. But I do feel so much better knowing that my feedreader isn't full, knowing that my inbox isn't overflowing, knowing that I can post this blog entry in about two seconds thanks to the glorious speedy fastness that is a cable modem.

But more than anything, I'm a little surprised. Three days is about the longest I've been away from my computer since I started blogging, and it shocked me today when I realized how much I'd missed reading all my favorites. It's one thing to choose not to blog for a couple of days...but it's another thing entirely when you can't follow your normal blogging routine because your daddy is a child of the depression who sees any technology beyond the bare essentials as pure, unrestrained indulgence and borderline conspicuous consumption. God love him.

All that to say: I have missed y'all. Real-life friends and bloggy friends. And I'll check in this weekend as much as I can.