Vive l'internet!

Reading Gemmak's latest post this morning led me to pondering on how important the internet has been to me. Having come to computers in the days of the BBC microcomputer (32 bit memory!), I was hooked immediately, but it was some years later when I made the acquaintance of the internet. In fact it was when Elder Daughter went off to university and we were able to set up a dial up connection which was temperamental, to say the least. But it was a start and eventually we graduated to broadband and the delights of the world wide web became more accessible.
Now, I am well and truly hooked and couldn't imagine having to do without it (witness my withdrawal symptoms when I am away from home and have no access!) I have made lots of online friends through Blogger, of course, and emailing friends and family is so much easier and more immediate than old fashioned 'snail mail'. When Elder Son is abroad on a tour of duty, I can email him and he receives the email within a couple of days rather than having to wait for weeks and during my last few years of teaching, internet access in the classroom through an interactive whiteboard was a real thrill for me, although the six year old pupils were so much more blase about it, of course.
Through the internet, I have renewed contact with people from my past and when you have an intenet 'presence' who knows who you might be reunited with or what new friends are just a click away? It can be a two-edged sword, but my life would be very different now were it not for the internet and yes, I'm happy about that.