My name is Kelly and.....

....I'm addicted to the internet.

THERE.     I said it.   The new year has got me all introspective.......   

It seems that between the crashing and burning of our old computer before Christmas and all our crazy holiday travel and spotty wi-fi connections along the way, I've come to realize that I like being online.      A LOT.        And I don't like going without email access.....NOT ONE BIT.   So could I have some sort of problem???   

Drew votes yes.  Emphatically.    He likens this to my Afrin addiction of 1995.  

Yes...seriously, you read that right.  Embarrassing as it is to admit, I WAS addicted to Afrin nasal spray for about 6 months.  It started innocently enough...we were in Dallas.....I was pregnant with Will, got sick and the doc recommended I try Afrin for a few days to help my congestion.   Little did I know that after more than a few days, your body becomes addicted and your sinuses go haywire---completely dependent on your giving them MORE Afrin.

I can hear you snickering out there---what a silly, suburban, goofball thing to be addicted to, but I have to admit.....things got a little weird after a few weeks.   I couldn't live without the stuff.  I would get super congested if I didn't use it and the relief was amazing when I did use it, so I got caught in a vicious cycle over months and months.   Got to where I even felt panicky if I didn't have an Afrin bottle with me at all times.....hid it in the glove box, had it upstairs, downstairs.   I smile when I think about having to stop for a bottle on the way home from the Mesquite Rodeo one time.

Drew didn't think it was funny.  AT ALL.  He staged his own form of an intervention and this was back when we didn't even know what an intervention was....but anyway, he did it....with love and concern and only a little disdainful sneering.

At any rate, I went cold turkey.   Pulled an all-nighter to get over it...and this addictive personality has never touched the stuff again.    

Now...this internet problem of mine is a whole nother issue raising all sorts of questions in my head.    

Me, scared: "Might I really be addicted to hitting send and receive?"    

Me, feeling guilty:   "What else would I/could I/should I being doing with my time???"

Me in denial:  "What's wrong with checking email just one more time before I get dressed/brush my teeth/carpool/eat lunch/carpool/walk the dog/cook dinner/walk the dog/brush my teeth/go to bed? Huh?  Huh?"

Yeah, well....I'm looking at myself...and my internet issues in 2009.

In the meantime, like Drew always says, it's probably a good thing I've never smoked crack!