Today, I simultaneously chatted with both Jeremiah (in Jordan) and Carissa (in Argentina) through gmail. We all chatted back and forth ... no problem. Totally crazy ... but WONDERFUL.
Just 5 years ago, Gregg headed to Iraq for the first time. We talked and laughed about the up-and-coming technology that would allow us to actually see each other while we talked on the phone. It sounded preposterous. Now ... we all have computers with built-in video cameras and microphones. I can sit in my office and chat with my children all over the world, while actually looking at them, seeing their expressions, and hearing their tone of voice. When Gregg was in Iraq 5 years ago ... I was just thankful for the technology of email. Crazy!
On the downside ... sometimes I just prefer the telephone. Now, when I get a "call" from my children overseas ... I must make sure I'm not in my pjs, and I've combed my hair for the day. Then, to make matters worse, I actually see myself on my screen the whole time I'm talking. Talk about distracting ... it's like looking in a mirror while talking on the phone. Yuck!
Despite the fact that I don't really like to look at myself ... I LOVE that I can see my children when they are 10,000 miles away. Wow!!!
I feel a little old when I realize that ...
... I was in high school when microwaves hit the stores.
... I was already married when cds and personal video cameras became popular.
... I had children before cell phones made an appearance,
and I was the mother of 9 before we actually had one.
... I was already the mother of 7 when we got our own personal computer, and the mother of 8 when we got internet.
... I was the mother of 10, when MP3s were invented. Who would have ever thought that people would "need" a handheld device that they could play thousands of songs on, and watch movies on?
Now ...
... we own 2 microwaves.
... we own more cds than we can count, and we can take videos on our cell phones, and on our digital cameras.
... we own 7 cell phones.
... we own 1 pc laptop, 5 Mac laptops (we had 7, but 2 got dropped recently), 2 iMacs, 1 Power Mac
... we own 7 iPods, 1 iPod Touch, and 1 iPhone.
Is there such thing as Technology Overload? When will it end???
I cannot begin to imagine what daily life will be like just 10 years from now. If we heard rumors ... I'm sure we would laugh.
I was thinking that last night when a video call came in...is my hair combed...how awful do I look. Technology is amazing and I am so thankful for it's ability to keep families connected from long distances.
ReplyDeleteYesterday when I was chatting with Jeremiah and he asked if I had video chat, I was sorta thankful I didn't... because I had just gotten up and was still in my pjs. I was pretty happy when he said he could call my cell from his skype. It was so cool to get to actually TALK to him from half a world away.
ReplyDeleteI, too, appreciate the modern technology that allows me to keep up with all your kids around the world :)