NOT ENOUGH

 There are many times in life when we think, "It's not enough".  Some times we feel it's not enough to just be a mom . . .  "I want more in my life, I want a career." Or perhaps in our marriage we think it's not enough to just be living together without communication or consideration.  Or maybe it's something as simple as, "There's not enough hot fudge on my sundae". 

What ever it is there are always going to be times when we feel something is "Not Enough".

Living in the UP for the summer the perfect example of the "not enough" theory is the internet connection.  Or rather, the lack of internet connection. There is just NOT ENOUGH WIFI to last us a month. Especially when we have house guests.  

The Man's son, DJ, and his girlfriend, June, arrived this past Thursday night from North Pole, Alaska. (Yes Virginia . . .  There really is a North Pole, AK ! and we know people who live there.) DJ and June flew down here for a week to pick up our RV and drive it back to AK. (The Man just can't manage "camping" any more. It's exhausting for him which makes it more physical effort for me. The fact that I am no longer a "Spring Chicken" any more means I don't need to be crawling under campers or emptying septic systems.)  I am SUPER SAD to see the RV go from our lives but it is for the best. 

But back to the WIFI . . . The Man is, shall we say, frugal. How he ever let his wife purchase all the multitudes of crafting and cooking items is beyond me.  My theory is that he had no idea what or how many things she was buying. I think he had his hunting and fishing and she just bought anything she wanted to occupy her time. It apparently worked for them.  But now that he is on his own he is constantly saying, "We don't need that!" OR "What did you buy THAT for?". He buys very little and lives a very sedentary life.  I am the total opposite and are of the mind that if I need it I buy it.  (Thankfully I am in a  position to do that, within reason.)  When we are in Florida the internet is key to making my life easy. If I can get on my computer and do what ever without a three minute wait for the internet to connect I am a very happy camper.  Good TV and internet connections are vital to making my life easy.

Fast forward to Michigan.  Here in the UP communication is still basically dependent on smoke signals. At least that is the way it feels at times.  The phone reception has improved over the past couple of years. I no longer have to go into the middle of the field, climb up onto the picnic table, stand on one leg and spin around 12 times in order to get two bars on my phone. The signal is not great but at least I can make and receive phone calls at any spot IN the house. That is huge, especially on cold, rainy days. The internet is a totally different story.  

Outside the house there is a "dish" for the Direct TV connection.  It does a fairly good job except when it rains.  This morning we had a downpour and the TV signal went missing.  Apparently a rain drop is so powerful that it can interrupt signals being sent to Earth by a satellite.   (And this is the twenty-first century?)  The internet is provided by a company called Hughes Net.  They  offer several different plans for different amounts of WIFI for the month. Because The Man is a dinosaur he does not require ANY internet except for the ten minutes a day that he goes on his Samsung tablet to check his email and Facebook. The Man has a laptop computer from the 1800's that he NEVER uses but it sits on his desk so that people will think he is tech savvy.  (You and I know better!). 

The bottom line here is that if The Man doesn't need a lot of WIFI then no one else needs it either.  The problem with that manner of thinking is that The Man is now addicted to streaming shows. I made the mistake of introducing him to streaming while we were in Florida where I have a Smart TV.  With the push of a button we can be binge watching "Breaking Bad" while sitting on the couch and eating ice cream. When we return to MI there is not Smart TV, not enough internet connection and no computer on which to down load anything.  Unless I am here.  I have the MacBook Pro computer and I have the memberships to Hulu, Netflix and HBO Max.  BUT we still need more internet. 

Last year I FINALLY got The Man to think about increasing his internet for an extra $10 a month over the standard/minimum fee of $29.  You would think I was asking him to buy me a Maserati or a Mink. But he did give in when I explained that if he wanted to stream shows on my computer we MUST have more internet.  The down side of this is that we usually use up the allotted "gigs" about half way through the month because it is NOT ENOUGH !  

Enter DJ and June who live on their phones which are connecting to The Mans internet.  Picture Hoover Dam suddenly bursting . . . that must have been what the internet company thought was happening at The Mans house this past weekend.  Suddenly, in the matter of two days, every bit of internet connection time was GONE !!!!  It was like a tornado touched down on the farm and sucked every bit of WIFI from the face of the earth.  

Now this really isn't a problem for me personally because I can connect to my "personal hot spot: on my phone and if I am very "frugal" I can continue to get my mail and write blogs until the month is up and The Man's internet allotment is refreshed,  I am not letting on to anyone that I can do this because I am hoping that if DJ and June become frustrated enough with The Man and his "frugal" internet budget maybe they can talk some sense into him to spend another $10 for unlimited access. We can only hope. 

And in case you are thinking that The Man may be right in his "frugality" let me mention the fact that when we leave for Florida he cancels his Hughs Net account, rightfully so because we are not here to use it BUT if he is only paying for 5 months worth of internet wouldn't you think . . . MAYBE . . . he could spring for the full package for when we ARE here ?