After four years of a fast internet connection—quick on when we pull up to the library or our neighbor’s, quick off when we drive home—we finally have internet access here at our little pink house.  It’s a slow internet connection, but it’s steady (most of the time).  And after just one week, I’m not quite sure how I lived without it while designing websites and blogging for the last four years!

Our next-door-neighbor (who has know my husband’s family since before he was born!) has been ever-so-gracious to let me park in her driveway whenever I need to check my email.  Aunt Katie’s ever-ready supply of Winnie the Pooh and Prayer Bear movies has kept Ru entertained when Mommy had longer tasks that required actually being able to plug in her computer and see her computer screen (whoever invented these new laptop screens wasn’t thinking about using them outside in the sunshine, obviously).  But I didn’t want to wear out my welcome.

Merritt has dropped hints increasingly through the past few months that if it got too difficult to be going back and forth to Katie’s umpteen times a week, we could get internet at home.  But being the cheapskate, I resisted.  Even though it was a hassle, I was still glad not to have the distraction of internet in our home.

Finally two weeks ago, after I’d come home once again with too-tired baby girls after a too-long internet job at Aunt Katie’s, Merritt said, “I think we need to get internet.”

And finally, I was all-too-ready to concur.  I felt like I had to do my to-do lists twice.  Once in preparation for getting on the internet, and then doing them again once I got online.

Of course, actually getting internet did not turn out to be as simple as we thought.  We knew DSL was impossible since we’re still living in the technologically dark ages in these parts.  But we thought we could get the same internet as Katie—after all, she doesn’t live that far away.  The internet guy agreed when he came out to look.  However, two different trees were blocking two different “lines of sight”.  So he recommended another company.  And we prayed it would work.  Because our only other option, save dial-up on the phone line which we don’t have, was Wild Blue.  And as one friend has put it, it’s not all that wild—mostly blue!

I called the number of the other company.  He took my address and thought it looked like it would work.  “Will you be ready to sign up if it does work?” he asked.

“Honestly, I don’t even know your prices.  I just called because it sounded like it was the only other option.  And I can’t just type your company into Google to find out your prices, since I sorta kinda don’t have inernet.”

When he stated his prices, I couldn’t believe it.  They offered an even cheaper base plan.  With no time commitment.

So here we are, a week later, with a slow, steady 256k internet connection.  I was laughing when I pointed out to my husband the billboard advertising 60 Mbps fiber optic in the Town far away from our home.

“Honey,” I told him, “our highest and only upgrade option is to one Mbps.”

It might be slow, but it’s here, at home, on my desk.  I can put the girls down for a nap before I do my online to-do list.  I can look up the weather report whenever my husband needs to know if it’s going to frost or rain.  I can do my work and be done, instead of feeling like I’m having to do everything thrice.

I’m having to re-learn how I use the internet.  Changing my bookmarks around.  Finding out I can actually use the “share” button in Google Reader.  Exploring podcast subscriptions (any suggestions for choosing a podcast program?).  Finally using SwagBucks.  Listening to streaming audio Bible.

But as handy as it is, the internet is still that ever-ready source of distraction.  I can already tell I’m going to have to institute that rule of “don’t check email before your devotions.”  And I’m afraid that I haven’t gotten as much writing done now that I have a steady internet connection.

What guidelines do you have in place to keep yourself from wasting time on the internet?  How do you manage your online and offline priorities?  How do you keep social networking from becoming your life?  How do you remember to balance mommy time with blog time?