Unplugged

When I was in high school, MTV began the show “Unplugged.” A show where music artists would perform their songs acoustically in front of a live audience.  This seemed to be when MTV was starting to play a little less music and began a few of their reality TV shows. I can’t say I watched a lot of Unplugged.  The only one I remember watching was Nirvana, and to be honest, I can’t remember if I watched it before, or as a rerun after, Kurt Cobain’s death.  I DID watch a lot of MTV’s reality TV shows, The Real World especially.  This was at a time when if you couldn’t be there to watch your show, you (somehow) figured out how to program your VCR to tape the show while you were out. For about three years, I do not think I missed a single Real World episode.

I thought of Unplugged today when I tried to think of a word to describe my recent hiatus from the internet.  I was unplugged.  Disconnected.  I took a step back from the online world.  I don’t have social media or WordPress on my phone (a choice I made a few years ago and have come to really appreciate), so unless I had my computer on, I was “out of the know.”

Being unplugged wasn’t necessarily a choice I made on purpose. Like Spring Breaks of yore, we traveled to the shore. (Maybe there is a bit of a poet in me, eh?).

The house we rented DID have WiFi that worked – as long as you were ten feet from the modem, the modem was not too cold, there was no wind outside, and you were wearing a yellow bucket hat.  Just kidding about the hat, but not much else.  And since I had such difficulty getting or waiting for my computer to work, I eventually stopped trying.  I began a computer-free life.

It was great.  

We walked, while Declan scootered, a million miles a day.  I become a zombie whenever a puzzle comes out and ended up finishing three puzzles – each the day I started them.  We played on the sand.  We played the board game Clue every night.  But most of all, I was able to sit and listen to the sound that I love most.

The sound of the ocean waves breaking on the shore.

I enjoyed my very own Real REAL World.

We rented the house for our Spring Break 2020 getaway.  Even with the pandemic, travel restrictions, and the quarantine, the owner would not let us out of the lease last year.  He did let us carry our trip over to 2021, which worked great. I am excited to continue our Spring Break tradition in the years to come.

On our Spring Break trip five years ago, I took the picture at the top of my blog.  I asked the family to face the water and put their hands out to their sides, not quite touching each other.  I asked them to turn around and do the same thing again, facing me.

As they turned and before they complied, I captured Catelyn – always the actress – performing the BIG part on an imaginary stage.  I caught Bobby trying to comply to my request and coerce his siblings to do the same.  Declan enjoyed the turnaround so much; he added a twist and continued a stimful turn.  While Bob, who is so easily distracted by his surroundings, looks in earnest off to the side at who knows what.

It was an accidental shot.

It was a perfect representation of my family.

When I started and set up my blog five years ago (!) I couldn’t think of a better photo to use.  I still love that Spring Break photo and don’t think it will ever change.  Although at this point, it is a little inaccurate in age.

So, just to be fair, the 2021 Coupe kids on our 2021 Spring Break: