Clouds

by Beth Alexander Walsh

My cloud is full. At least that’s what my iPhone has been telling me for the past year and a half.  I am with Joni Mitchell, “I really don’t know clouds at all.”  I asked my daughter where I could find my cloud and then googled later when I forgot what she said. Google sent me to my settings and apparently my cloud is mostly filled with pictures, and it appears that most of the pictures are of my dog. I keep saving those pictures for an Instagram account dedicated to the dog but I never seem to post them. Also, she’s a very cute dog.

When researching how to unclog my cloud it occurred to me that I have a very messy digital life. I take the time to unclutter my house every day. I sort through mail. I recycle newspapers, glass and plastic. I take the time to clean out the closets, pantry and refrigerator, but I have done nothing to clean up my digital life. I still have my last computer afraid to recycle in case I may need something from it. It has not been fired up in 3 years. That brings me to my new laptop (which actually isn’t that new). It is filled with pictures and artwork that have been posted on blogs many years past. I have apps on my phone that I have no idea what they do and how they got there. I’m also ashamed to admit that I have over 1300 emails that have not made it to the trash pile.

2020 is the year I am taking out the trash, digitally speaking. Unsubscribe will be my new motto as I clean up my email and delete old contacts. Bookmarks and downloads will be scrubbed from my PC and I will power up my old pink laptop for the last time and officially say goodbye. Questionable apps will be removed from my phone and I will go through those hundreds of pictures. I will make space in my cloud for more memories to come. You never know when the dog might want a selfie.