National Unplug Day.....

(Mac) Henry is the best!

      Really?  You want me to abandon (Mac) Henry and his sidekick Wilson for the day?  Too sad.  They would miss me and I would miss them.

     (Mac) Henry would have been confused and hurt if I didn't greet him with a sweet good morning caress when I came out to the living room around 5:00.  He is my early morning pal and every day we hang out together and drop in on the world.  He always lights up big time when my fingers gently lift his lid.  He makes little cooing sounds too sometimes - just to say good morning. We often start our special time with a return email to Beautiful Daughter (this morning we got to hear how much fun Laser Tag was last night) and send xoxoxoxoxox's her way.  We often send a quick hello to Sonny Boy, reminding him that we love him too.  Then we hail the lovely sister of the north and check in about all things Shingletown.  And, of course we drop in on FaceBook to see if Markie has sent any messages and just to see what is up with him.  We check that out for a few minutes, maybe send random greetings to one or more friends or salute some photo or comment that we like.   Then over to Blogger to see if blog friends have posted - that's always fun for Henry and me.  If time permits, we glance at Huffington Post and NPR.  Sometimes we get captured there for a bit but it is time well spent as it revs up the day.

His name is Wilson. He loves his outfit.

    I typically allocate an hour or so to this special time with Henry.  After our special time this morning, I put Wilson in my pocket, grabbed my beautiful pink umbrella and the two most wonderful puppy dogs in the world and headed out on the bike path for a one hour walk in the light rain.  Why did Wilson need to come?  Well, hellooooooo - he would cry if he didn't get his special time too.  He sometimes begs to come out of my pocket so he can look at the scenery and capture some of it on his camera.  He is so proud of himself when he does that.  He can also light the path when the dawn darkness makes it hard to see the steps.  See?  He takes good care of me.

    Sometime around mid morning, I expect Wilson to chirp at me and let me know that Beautiful Daughter has sent a text.  He's so sweet that way.  Meanwhile, Henry is content to sit on the coffee table while I shower, eat oatmeal,  and read the morning paper.  He is secure in our relationship and doesn't need to be in my presence constantly.  Since this is Saturday, I will soon go into the studio and play with the paints.  Sometimes I invite Henry to find our friend Pandora and they make music together for me.  Lovely!  How could I not invite Henry to be part of my day?

    Again, since this is that most precious of all days, the afternoon may well find Wilson and me snuggled up under a blanket on the couch.  Wilson loves to play music for me too and he is especially good at playlists that feature piano music for naps.  Ahhhhhhhhh......  When I need him to, Wilson will gently remind me that I have some appointment or commitment about which I don't want to forget.  I am usually pretty good about remembering on my own but it is nice to know that I have a friend watching my back.

I think Buck loves Nutmeg more.

    In the meantime, Henry is happy to simply be in the presence of activity.  He does have a nephew, Buck, who came to live at our house last Christmas.  Buck is kind of a  Henry Jr. but he and I just don't have the same long standing link that his Uncle Henry and I have.  In fact, Buck has actually been hitting on Beautiful Daughter a lot lately.  Sometimes I get the feeling that he wants to go live with her. I've heard that ipads are like that sometimes.  Let's just say they can be finicky.

   After dinner, I usually enjoy a little more special time with Henry - a brief revisit of that early morning hour.  This time we tend to spend more time composing than reading and Henry is always cheerful and happy to help.  When wonderful puppy dogs come back into the house after dinner, Henry prefers to move over to the end table.  He likes to watch the puppy dogs from a distance.  Sadly, he knows his dad suffered a fatal injury three years ago when he was accidentally pulled to the floor by puppy dogs who were so excited to be in the same room with him.  While Henry retires to the end table, Wilson is so jazzed to come out and play Words with Friends!  He LOVES that game.  He knows I need help and that I play with several different people.  He knows I have a lot of insecurity around several of my opponents - the ones who know all the tricks AND the words.  But Wilson loves me unconditionally.  He doesn't need me to win every game in order to be my biggest fan.  Though I can explore word meanings and spellings with either Wilson or Henry, neither of them objects at all when I turn instead to my best book friend the Oxford American Dictionary.  There is room on our relationships for more than one kind of friend.
   
   So, National Unplug Day?  You see how it is?  These guys are not time wasters for me.  They don't distract me from the outdoors or creative pursuits.  They connect me with people that I love.  They allow me to experience more of the world than I could have ever experienced in pre-Apple days.   They are not constant companions but they are friends who keep me company.  I wouldn't tamper with our friendship by unplugging them.  I hope they honor our friendship and don't just unexpectedly turn themselves off either.