Technology

Technology...it's one of those things that's great when it works.  Now, I have to admit, I am a bit of a geek when it comes to technology.  I always want the newest gadget (even if the slightly older gadget I have is still in perfectly good working condition.)  I definitely take after my dad in this sense, as my mom wanted nothing to do with technology.  She refused a cell phone almost to her dying day!  But technology can also take us away from the world around us.  I know I myself have been guilty of that...perhaps sitting at the dinner table, with my husband, perusing Facebook instead of having a conversation.  (In my defense, Tim is just as guilty of this!)  I see it at restaurants all the time - families each with their face buried in a device and silence at the table.  I have made it a point to put my phone away at the dinner table, at least, and to actually have a conversation with my husband.  But I am still pretty darn attached to the stupid thing.  (Just kidding, phone, you know how important you are to me.  I didn't mean to call you stupid...)

Despite all of this (and the frustration that comes when technology DOESN'T work as it's supposed to) technology can be a pretty wonderful thing.  I can talk face to face with my sister halfway across the country, or my dad the next state over.  I can see what my cousins on the other side of the country are up to, and keep up with their growing kids.  It's not the same as actually spending time together, but when time and money prevent us from being together often enough, it's at least somewhat of a substitute.  AND, in the palm of my hand, I have a powerful camera and video recorder.  It's not like when I was a kid, and our camcorder was about as big as the laptop from which I'm typing, and you had to carry the VCR in a bag connected to said camcorder in order to actually record video.  I don't have to wait until I finish the entire 24 or 36 shots in a roll of film plus developing time to see my pictures.

And, in our unique situation, we have all kinds of photo and video memories of our sweet angel.  We didn't spend seven months expecting that was all we would have.  But we recorded much of it...not to the point that we weren't present in the moment, but enough that we have some amazing memories to look back on.  We intentionally got new phones while pregnant with Henry with more memory, knowing we would be capturing lots of moments.  And though at the time I sometimes wondered if we were overdoing it, I am now beyond grateful that we did capture those moments.  (Of course, for any future children, I apologize in advance that we basically attached a camera to you 24-7...)

Don't use technology as an escape from the world, keep having face-to-face conversations and interactions, get outside and explore, BUT do take advantage of that powerful technology in your hand to record some of those moments.  You never know when the day will come that those records will be all you have left.  After all, as my dad is fond of saying, film is free!