Connected at the cottage
For us, sitting out on the cottage deck on a Sunday morning with a coffee and a newspaper has been the tradition for three generations. This weekend, we brought our son Jack, the fourth generation, up to the cottage for the first time. There was no coffee for him, and he didn’t read the newspaper (he can’t even talk), but something tells me that as he grows up, he won’t ever partake in this tradition.
In fact, with the immenent death of the newspaper, he may not even have the option. Between social networking, blogs and news sites, the print newspaper could be a thing of the past. Sitting on the deck reading his Laptop, iPod, Kindle or a device not yet concieved, connected to the world via wifi seems more likely.
We had a visit on Saturday morning from our friends at Rogers. We had them update the wiring and install high-speed internet for the cottage. Wifi? At the cottage? Outrageous!… Isn’t it? The purists would argue that the cottage should be an oasis away from the urban jungle, an escape from work and a sacred getaway. It doesn’t need to be.
The cottage is a change of scenery, a great place to get some needed perspective. I do some of my best work at the cottage, specifically because it is a change of scenery. The bottom line is that having an Internet connection up there simply means I’ll go up more often, and for longer periods, with the peace of mind knowing that I’m not going to miss an urgent issue, or an important email. Cellular coverage is spotty at best, so a high-speed line is more stable.
Summer weekends are far too precious, so anything that allows more trips up north is a good thing!
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