Multi-Grain Cheerios

Yesterday Jackson went on an all day field trip to Pensacola.  We were thoroughly packing Thursday night since he had to wake up before dawn and be at the school at 5:45 a.m. the next day.  Looking toward a long bus ride with his classmates, we plugged in his iPod Shuffle to charge and I also remembered I had a large pad of Mad Libs, and asked him if he'd like to take some along.

He got excited and said he would take the whole thing.  He also brought an entire pack of pens, so he could pass them all out and share them.

Within minutes of stepping off the bus late last night he told me that as soon as they pulled away that morning that "everyone" pulled out their Nintendo DS and messaged each other the entire way there.  Some were using the phone of their chaperone parent.  He then proceeded to of course tell me that he wanted a DS.

I had forgotten about the Mad Libs but remembered later today and asked him if he used any of them.  He said "No, everyone was too busy with the movies and other stuff."

I have held out getting a cell phone and Facebook account.  This makes me feel old and the opposite of hip.  I do not text, twitter, or pin.  It is enough to read a few blogs and keep up with e mail and my home phone. 

And the above story illustrates why...I don't want to get to a point where I text someone sitting a few rows down from me and Mad Libs are boring and not stimulating enough. 

A few weeks ago I found a box of letters spanning my freshman year of college until my wedding.  Real letters.  Some typed, many written by hand, more than one encouraging me to get an e mail address.  The hour I spent looking through that box of letters lifted my spirits.  They were extremely personal. 

I'm sure much out of my love for paper, I am sad to think that my children will not have written memories of their friends and loved ones.  I do encourage them to write letters to their friends.  I hope we can strike a balance between these new forms--text, Facebook, twitter--of communication (which are unfortunately often selfish and convenient) and the ways of the past.

And I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but here is the truth:  When Jimmy leaves his Facebook page open on the computer and I spend some time scrolling through his friend's updates, I don't feel edified or encouraged.  Often I feel inadequate and discouraged.  I definitely feel as though I've neglected what is going on around me.  Mostly I get the feeling that many are wrapping their self worth into how many comments or likes they receive and spend much of their time trying to promote and prove themselves to people who supposedly already call themselves their friends.

I even had reservations about this blog at first.  But hopefully I can write with a pure heart and leave a history for my kids.  So kids, one day, when you get a cell phone, please don't look at your phone instead of me when I'm talking to you.  Because I don't have one for that very reason.  I want to look at you when you're talking to me.  You are growing up way too fast for me to miss anything.  Embrace technology.  Just remember it can't hug you back.

"Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar;"  Romans 3:4