Sunday, April 09, 2006

Kin only keystrokes away

Last night the computer phone rang. Our eldest son Dr. Steve was about to blow out his birthday candles and open his presents, and thanks to the advances in videophone technology, we got to see and hear him do it and join in just like being in his living room. Scott, his younger brother, got Barb a nifty webcam for her birthday that let them see and hear us as well, and we had fun. Though they live about five hours north of us, it was very clear, full duplex communication--something that the media had said was coming for many years but never seemed to be good enough to be practical and enjoyable till this past year or so, with the advent of programs like Google chat and Skype. For Grandma K. and Grandpa K. it was sheer pleasure to watch the grandkids cavort and honor their dad. CJ ran their video camera and Mackenzie took digital camera shots...imagine that. Our grandchildren following the media tradition our whole family seems to have picked up since birth.

Thanks to the technology Barb and I enjoy today, as our children moved away to pursue lives of their own, our empty nest syndrome seemed much more mild than it was for our parents, who were just old enough to miss the whole computer thing completely. We, unlike they, have been able to chat and video and exchange images and clips, mpgs and other files with ease to our sons in Kissimmee, Beverly Hills (Florida) and Manhattan anytime, year-round, free, and easily; and since we all have cellphones with long distance standard, we can always get in touch with the whole fam no matter how far-flung they scatter. Granted, it's not as good as actually being there with them, but it's close.

2 comments:

R the Great said...

Pretty cool. I hope my kids will keep in touch with me when they leave home.

underwear ninja said...

my kids will have chips in their brains that think to me what they're up to.