Connections

In this modern electronic age, it's easier and faster than ever to communicate.  I can pick up the phone and call anyone in the U.S., and talk as long as I want, for free.  I can IM anyone I choose, on any one of half a dozen different IM clients, using either the "official" client provided by whichever service I happen to be using, or an "all-in-one" client like Trillian or Gaim, which can accomodate all the popular IM clients in one handy interface, saving memory and screen real estate.  I can view my daughter on her webcam.  Then there's Twitter , a live update service that lets people relate what they are doing at any given moment, thorugh use of their cellphones.  That has been a godsend this past week, since someone very special to me was far, far away from home.  Boss has two cellphones that he carries with him whenever he's working, and carries one, even when he has a day off, so he's easy to find.  Then of course there's email, but even that's slow compared to these other tools. 

With kids, family, and friends scattered all over the world, these tools aren't just a luxury, or toys to play with.  They are a necessity to keep this mama from going craz(ier).  Sometimes I catch myself taking all this for granted, then I think about not being able to be such a part of my kids' lives...and run to the computer!  I once told my son how much it amazed me to be able to "talk" to him in real time in IM, with me in TN and him in New Orleans.  "You'll get used to it," he laughed.  I guess I have done just that, but I hope I never lose at least part of the child-like fascination of being able to talk to people whenever, however, and wherever I want.

The Internet is magic, after all...isn't it?