This is Jack with two of his favorite things, Orangina and cheese pizza. It's hard to find things this 7-year-old son of mine will eat. He's picky, which I understand from other moms is quite normal at this age. Still, it pains me that my son could give a flip about food.
Take our recent Spring Break trip to Crested Butte as an example. Diana's husband John is a good cook. He made us homemade pizzas on the grill and some fabulous pork loin and veggies. I was in heaven. Jack was indifferent, at best. Then, there was the incredibly delicious dinner at their friends Andrew and Suzanne's house. Andrew and John were test driving some Middle Eastern fare on us in preparation for a fund-raising dinner they were going to cater there in the Butte.
Let me just tell you, it was a treat. Delicious in every way, especially the sauces. Juliet, Zane and Nola were good little children and ate it up. Jack was in the other room with an altitude headache (first day in the mountains). Poor little guy! But even if he hadn't been under the weather, he would have snubbed his nose while Mom stuffed her face. Luckily, no one in Crested Butte held it against us.
In fact, I noticed during our visit to this beautiful Butte, that the people are incredibly laid back, hospitable, family-oriented and equally plugged-in as they are unplugged. Diana was cracking me up with her account of just how unplugged her husband John is. Half the time he doesn't even have his cell phone with him. Imagine that! I was Twittering from the slopes the whole time, eager to share my travels with all those hundreds of eager @kristegoad followers, and here's John who could care less whether he's even got a charged cell.
It's refreshing, really, not to see everyone all Blackberried and iPhoned up all the time. Refreshing, but I couldn't break my habit with only a five-day visit. I think it takes much longer to reprogram. But the Butte residents seem to have it mastered. And in such a beautiful environment, it's a good thing. More time for the great outdoors, which lured them to this remote location to begin with. Remote, but thanks to modern technology, totally connected.
I had wifi everywhere I went, which made me think just how amazining life has become. And many of the people I ran into are able to live in Crested Butte and still earn a good living in a worldwide market because of the ole' World Wide Web. Of course, even though I was on vacation, I had my computer with me and even did a little "work" while I was there.
It's a fine balance we now have to strive for. Because while technology has enabled unprecedented freedom, it's also created a constantly plugged in society. So while we are now free to travel and roam and work from just about anywhere, we have to remember to take a page from our friends in the Butte and unplug every now and then.
Note to self: Remember to disconnect so you don't become disconnected with
life.
