Communication - ever changing...

I have been thinking alot about communication lately, about how our generation is communicating in ways that are so foreign to our grandparent's generation. I have heard stories of 'back in the day' when friends and family would just 'stop by' - no phone call (no cell phones), perhaps they were just out and about and decided at the last minute to stop. I remember the days when my mom would be on the phone and have to STAY IN THE KITCHEN because the phone cord was only so long. I remember sweating on the way home, cutting curfew a little too close (if I would have had a cell phone, I could have called!).

Thanks to the cordless phone, I don't have to stay in the kitchen to talk on the phone. I am usually multi-tasking (thanks to either my cell or cordless phone). I can start dinner, help Olivia cut out a heart out of paper, check my email, and find a lost toy/cup for Logan all during a typical 20-minute phone conversation. And more often than not, my "conversations" with my friends and family are done without even talking! Due to email, blogs and now Facebook.

While it certainly is easier and much more efficient to have "conversations" this way, I can't help but wonder what my great, great grandparents would think. And while my generation relies very heavily on emails, Facebook and texting, I can only imagine how our kids and even their kids will be communicating in the future. Alot of the "facetime" has been removed (funny they chose to call it "Facebook", perhaps "Computerbook" would have suited it better).

I had 3 old-fashioned conversations today, on the phone. Mom - we covered her visit with Olivia; Jamie - we covered our trip to Chicago; and Dotty - we covered the peanut butter recall. (Just thought I would document this in the event that 30 years from now, we don't even use phones anymore). :)

All this to say, I am all for change. I LOVE email, blogs and Facebook. I LOVE my cell phone and feel helpless if I accidentally leave the house without it. I also LOVE to talk on the phone, but my kids seem to have radars and when I get on the phone, they suddenly need EVERYTHING, RIGHT NOW! I am excited about all of the old friends I am in contact with again via Facebook, and I love to document our lives via our blog. But I am exhausted just writing this. 30 years ago, my post would have simply said "I love our phone. The stuck-to-the-wall phone".