The Addiction

Thanks to my brother, my parents recognized my symptoms early.

“I think you’re using the wrong method,” my bro told my mom one night after she shouted upstairs that dinner was ready. “If you want B.J. to come to a meal, you’re going to have to instant message her.”

He was right. I had a problem. Only – loss of appetite was only the beginning.

Soon I began to exhibit other strange symptoms. Symptoms like staying up all night, and experiencing tremors when someone mentioned the words “lightning” and “modem” in the same sentence.

While my family noticed my problem, they were at a loss as to how to stop its frightening effects.

They tried everything.

They made vacation plans on remote mountainsides where the closest Internet signal was 50 miles away. They signed me up for extracurricular activities like baseball and knitting. They hid my laptop in the bathtub… under the water.

Sadly, my rehabilitation was always temporary. No matter what the road blocks, I somehow found my way back to the Internet.

“If you don’t watch out, B.J.’s going to run off with some man she meets online,” my brother warned.

That was 8 years ago. I still get tremors when anyone mentions the Internet. Mostly because I’m so scared of how I am going to tell my kids that I really DID meet their dad online.

It’s a crazy thought – how something so addicting could be so wonderful as to give me the love of my life. Still, I realize this problem I have is a real addiction. And like all addicts, I admit – I can quit any time I want to.

At least, that’s what I told my mom in our last Instant Message.