Living off the grid rurally we have some trade offs. We get deer and mountain lions, clean air, wide open spaces, and we can garden naked. But resources than many urban or even town dwellers take for granted can be hard to come by, like emergency care for ourselves or our pets, pizza delivery, and reliable internet.

The tower that provides my internet connection was struck by lightning last summer and hasn’t functioned properly since then. This week it’s deteriorated further. I’m grateful for the skill of patience that’s helped me through a series of support calls as techs unraveled the ‘head-scratching mystery’ as one of them called it. Today I finally learned that the signal is disintegrating and someone needs to climb the tower and permits need to be gotten and no one wants to work on this over Christmas weekend.

I don’t blame them. And I can live with random internet for a few more days, with gratitude for so much about the situation. Some links work sometimes. There’s a roof over my head and ample food, and I get electricity from the sun. Friends are sharing baked treats and love and outside it’s the peaceful quiet of deep winter. We’re not getting bombed, and we have fresh water, and currently there’s a sane, competent president in the White House. I’m in bed with a cute dog, and abundant patience.