NEW TXT MSG

My husband and I are not exactly on the cutting edge when it comes to technology.  When the kids were growing up, they claimed we were the only family in town without an answering machine.   We still tape and watch television shows on videocassettes.  And we wouldn’t yet have a flat-screen TV if our kids hadn’t gotten us one for Christmas last year.  So although it kind of surprises even me, I love cell phone technology.  My phone is not a smart phone, I can't play Scrabble on it, and it doesn't even have a QWERTY keyboard, but it does keep me connected to my kids in a way that was unimaginable a generation ago.  When I moved away from home in the early 1980s, my parents used to call once a week, usually on Sunday afternoon when the long-distance rates were lower, and my dad kept a little timer going on his end.  When the white sand was about to trickle out, my dad would clear his throat and say, “Well, we love you, Babe,” and I knew that meant the time was up. When you try to condense a week’s worth of living into a five-minute phone call, you end up hitting a few highlights and leaving a lot unsaid.  Although those weekly phone calls reminded me I was missed and loved, they didn't really do too much more than that.  One thing I love about cell phones is that I can call my kids or they can call me anytime and we can talk for as long as we need or want to.  But what I love just as much or even more is seeing the little text message icon flashing on the front of my screen when I check my phone between classes or when I get up in the morning.  Text messages contain the little things they are thinking and feeling and noticing, things that aren’t important or big enough to call about.  But those are the very things I love hearing, the things that keep us connected day by day.  I know cell phone technology wasn’t created just for parents like me, but it sure came along at just the right time!