Line of demarcation

Technology can be a wonderful thing, it makes our lives easier, it makes it easier to stay in touch, any number of things. But there is a dark side to technology, one hidden beneath the sheets, that can cause separation.

For Christmas my wife asked for and was given a dual control heated mattress pad. Ever since we were first married, we have always encountered the same problem, she runs cold, and I run hot. Her hands, her nose, and just in general, she is always cold. While she is piling on the blankets, I am kicking off the covers. In the beginning of our marriage it took some getting used, more than just the usual of having someone invade your sleep space. Of course she wanted to cuddle, which I'm fine with, but the body temp differences were limiting. Especially since I think the reason she is always cold is because she emits so much heat from her body. So much so, that I gave the nickname "my little butane heater". We could cuddle, but we couldn't sleep that way, because I would become unbearably hot and sweaty. Over the years we worked out a system to keep everyone happy, there had to be a physical connection somewhere as we went to sleep. Mostly it was a foot touching a lower leg, so she knew I was there, I didn't get hot, and we were separate enough to have different amounts of covers. Like everything, it took some time, but now I find my foot searching for her when she is out of town for work. That is until technology intervened! Now there is a virtual electric fence across the middle of our bed. Even if her side is turned on low, a foot across the line can make me uncomfortable. There is still occasion where she will stray to the cold side, but often she retreats to her heated cocoon, and I to the cool other side of my pillow. Luckily our love is much stronger than the electrical current splitting us at night, but it is another example of technology reducing actual human contact,