My laptop and I are in a delicate dance. In the past few years, I’ve been met with a few viruses that have shut my computer down and I’ve gone through losing all of my documents in the past. I’m writing more than ever which means that I need my laptop more than ever so I am very cautious and caring about its health. I’ve backed up my documents, but my laptop and I have been through so much that I’m just not ready to lose it. I know that one day I will have to give it up and move on, but for now, I would like to continue what we have.

A few days ago, I upgraded my virus protection. There is something odd about when I upgrade my virus protection because it seems to bring more problems than solutions. After I upgraded it, I got a big, nasty, red alert that said, “your computer is at risk.” I went into protection mode and shut down almost all activity. No web surfing, no email attachments, nothing. I had to protect my computer from the possibility of getting another virus. It took contact with the company, remote access to my computer and re-installing the program and I thought it was resolved. I restarted my computer a day later and that big, nasty, red alert was staring at me once more. This time, I took matters into my own hands.

I spent an evening doing everything I could figure out until I finally fixed the problem. This experience showed me a few things. One is appreciation. In the past, I would’ve been frustrated that my laptop wasn’t working. I might have tried to do what I needed to do, caught the virus and then been really annoyed at being slowed down. Instead, I protected the computer and allowed what I needed to do to take a back seat. It was more important to think about what I could do in the long-term if I took a couple of days to protect my laptop now. My patience kicked in and I focused on the long-term instead of what I needed to do this minute.

So, I believe that everything was designed to teach us a lesson. What was the lesson that I learned in this instance? I learned that sometimes, you when things work for you that you have to take care of them. We are in an “I’ll just get a new one” society. When something isn’t working for you, you just throw it away. I grew up in a day when there were repair shops. When your tv didn’t work, you didn’t run out to the store. You called the repairman, he fixed it and your tv worked for another five years before you even thought about replacing it. The important things in your life require repair, appreciation and attention. If you can appreciate all that has been done and how it continue to work for you, you should do whatever is necessary to take care of it. In reality, I have pushed my laptop to work harder for me because I don’t even understand all that it takes to do what it does. But, I respect it and I know that I need it so I can do exactly what I am doing now. Could I run out and replace it? I probably could. I don’t want to now because I would have to start all over. I would have to get to know a new system and way of doing things. Right now, I’m perfectly happy with opening this laptop up and doing what I enjoy And, I will continue until the laptop lets me know our time is up and I can no longer fix or protect it.

 “A man builds a fine house; and now he has a master, and a task for life: he is to furnish, watch, show it, and keep it in repair, the rest of his days” – Ralph Waldo Emerson