I don't have one of these:
I have a dog, and while he would love the chance to worm his way onto my lap, that position is already occupied by one of these:
I am realizing that the same principals apply to a laptop as a lapdog. The minute I sit down I pull this little baby onto my lap where my fingers idly stroke key after key for as long as I sit there. I can't seem to help myself. Even when I sit down to watch TV with my husband he has to snuggle up to me and my silver little beauty, much to his chagrin. It has gotten so bad that I put little Apple on my night stand so that I can work on her when I wake up in morning and before I start my day with the kids. In my defense, I am a great multi-tasker. I can fully enjoy whatever sitcom we are watching (although my computer stays at my desk while we watch "The Office". That kind of humor deserves your full attention) or follow the thread of a conversation while I edit photos, design marketing pieces, or check my e-mail. So I decided that I would be fully present to everything going on around me on Thanksgiving. I was hostessing so I was busy all morning cooking and making sure everything was set out just right. Then dinner started and I was so touched by the conversation and beauty of the people who sat around me that my thoughts stayed right in that moment. After dinner came some clean up, some singing around the piano to welcome in the holiday season, and game time (we set out card games, board games, and art projects on card tables throughout the down stairs so people can break off and do what ever activity appeals to them). I sat on the couch just to take it all in and watch contentedly as the people I love most engage and enjoy one another's company, but I was only content for a few minutes. I became restless and my hands felt awkward and useless as they just sat there. My lap missed the weight and warmth of my MacBook. Ohhh, how I longed, how I itched to just quietly pull it out and scan the black friday ads or respond to a couple of client e-mails, or to order my new backdrops. I almost gave in. But then I would have to admit that I can't go one whole day with out my laptop and I think that would say something really sad about me, so I resisted. Oh, I missed it, I missed it bad, but I did it.
Because I was able to do it on Thanksgiving, I decided to go one more day, just to solidify that I truly am well balanced. Friday was a special day for me anyway. When Jon asked me what I wanted for my birthday (which was the 23rd) I told him that I wanted a day off. I just wanted a day where no one made any demands on my time or attention. I wanted to sleep in, eat cheesecake for breakfast, shop at my leisure, take a nap, get a pedicure, read a book with no educational or professional merit, shop some more, and just be totally selfish with my time. It was awesome. I looked forward to it all week. Then, the morning of, I packed up my laptop and thought to myself that it would be a good day to get caught up on some business stuff undistracted. I reasoned that I love what I do, and that it wouldn't really be at odds with the sentiment of "Shama Day". In reality though, I just wasn't comfortable being away from my laptop for two whole days. How well balanced it that? So I put my laptop bag back in the closet and walked resolutely out the door.
I have to admit that before I went to bed last night I had to make sure she was charged up and ready to start today with me. For practical reasons, I tell myself, because I am doing all my holiday mini session this weekend (I am blogging in between shoots right now) and I will need to download photos throughout the day, but really I just missed her. It is the same way a lapdog person misses their snuggy warm mutt when they've been separated too long.
