Life is interesting

I finally entered into the age of technology. It’s interesting, I’ve been using a computer pretty regularly since my sister told me, in my fifth year of college, that I needed to “take a class”. Seems instructing her 25 year old, university-degreed sister on how to print a document was all the reason she needed to offer that sound advice. So I did.

I picked up on the whole Internet thing pretty easily, and as any administrator knows, communication at the click of a mouse via email is a lot more efficient than the old fashioned “Memo”. I even figured out how to create a “blog”, although I still don’t really know what that word means.

This past week, I delved one step further into the digital era and created a profile on Facebook. I’ve lost touch with so many friends from the past, I thought this might be a good way to reconnect, and as it turns out, with time, it is. But it’s also just another thing a busy mom can put on that to-do list of things she may never actually have time to do.

I got up early Sunday morning to put on a brisket, and I thought I’d give this new “toy” a whirl.

It seems there is a whole new language to learn when one attempts to navigate through this type of airspace, and I didn’t have time for a tutorial session to re-learn what words such as “flair”, “boxes” and “poke” really mean to the avid net head, so I went straight to the profile section. Surely I could answer a few simple questions about myself? However, this too, turned out to be more difficult than I could have imagined.

Answering questions about my age, my whereabouts and the people in my family was not so difficult. It’s when I got to the more personal questions that I began to struggle.

Q1: What are your activities? Hmm. Activities. Do people really want to know this? Who could possibly be interested? Maybe I’ll skip it and come back.

Q2: What are your interests? Hmm. What are my interests. What are my interests? Oh, no…I don’t have any interests. I’ve lost my interests! Quick! Next question!

Q3: Favorite music: What are they kidding? Like I’m supposed to put “Humpty Dumpty” down on this thing. Grownups are gonna read it. Grownups who knew me professionally and in college. Grownups who used to find me interesting, enjoy my company! Next.

Q4: Favorite TV shows: Well now, this is just getting ridiculous.

I decided I’d have to bite the bullet if I was really going to do this Facebook thing. I’d just have to tell the truth. So I did.

Q1: What are your activities?

A: ...pretty much whatever my two and four year olds are into at the moment. I teach Wednesday night Bible class, work at the paper and take my grandmother to the beauty shop on Fridays. I cook three meals a day, do dozens of loads of laundry a week and build miles and miles of train track. I drive fast racecars around a square card table and crash monster trucks off the back of the couch. And when I get up at 6 a.m. to try and do something I’m actually personally interested in, I get one little helper, teary-eyed, hair tousled, down the stairs at 6:35 saying, “I thought you were gonna come to bed and sleep with me.”

And that's not all. Just as I got him settled into the couch and sat back in my seat, re-gearing my mind for the task at hand, I heard birds chirping the tune “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” from a music box running on a dead battery, and a high-pitched pleading from the baby, “Maaameee”. It was now 6:43.

I let him lay for barely a second before his big brother suggested I go get him out of his bed. I thought (possibly out loud) maybe Daddy will get him, and I attempted to finish my “activity” at hand.

7:04-“Maaamee. I need a dwink.” And again with the suggestions. “Mom, can you go get him a drink?” What I need here is a little more guidance.

I decided to go on with my mission, but it seemed my mind had been erased and with it all logical thought, coherent sentence structure and any faint idea of where I was planning on taking this piece. It was all gone with the mere sound of one, drawn-out little word, “Maaamee”.

7:11-Get a refill of coffee. That’ll get the mind back in gear.

Q2: What are your Interests? Well, now that’s a different question. Being interested in something and being active in it-I can see how the two are miles apart. So I thought for a moment, but just a moment because half a moment is really all I had, and as I felt the electricity of an idea forming in my mind, just seconds from shooting down to my fingertips and onto my keyboard, there must have been a power surge in the area, because all my hands heard was a quiet and muffled, “Maamee, I want you.” So what is a mom to do…I sat there for a moment more.

My mind drifted from the assignment in front of me to why it is that the boy’s daddy is 10 feet away and doesn’t hear him talking but I’m on an entirely different floor and I can hear him perfectly. Oh, it must be because sound…travels …down???

This completely worthless thought led to a quick look at the clock-7:22, then a mental count down of all the things I must do before Bible class at 9:30. Is it possible?

Unfortunately, I’m afraid all those folks I’m dying to reconnect with may just have to remember me as I was in the past. On second thought, I think I’ll try again. Life is sure a lot more interesting right now!

And that’s All in a day’s work!