How Much is Too Much?

I love modern technology and the opportunity for communication it provides. I remember as a kid racing to the phone every time it rang, so I could be the one to answer. In those days with no Caller ID, you couldn't tell who was calling, but I didn't care. I still wanted to be the one to answer. I remember my joy when my parents first got an answering machine, and I no longer had to worry about calls I may have missed when I was away from home. Yes indeed, I love communication.

As the years passed and the world of technology increased exponentially, as a newly married couple, we were one of the first to have a computer in our home. I wasn't too impressed at first, until Gerald introduced me to the possibility of using it to communicate. Really? I could "talk" to people using my computer? Okay, I'm interested. This was before the World Wide Web or the internet as we know it today, but we were able to send messages back and forth with certain people who signed up for the same online service we did, in this case a company called GEnie. We could only use it at night or on weekends; during business hours, the folks at General Electric needed their mainframe computers for business purposes. It was a start, though, and it offered me an amazing new way to keep in touch with the people I love. I was immediately hooked.

To my delight, this was only the beginning. In the twenty years that followed, we have been blessed with countless other miracles: cell phones (I can talk to people when I'm not even home?!?), text messaging (I can send quick notes to people at any time without interrupting their daily lives?!?), the full-scale internet (I can email friends all over the world instantly, and get a response back within minutes?!?), instant messaging/live chat (I can have live conversations with people just by typing on my computer?!?), social networking sites (I can learn more about my friends and acquaintances than I ever imagined by reading their Facebook profiles and commenting on their statuses?!?), and blogging (I can write these blog essays and share my thoughts with as many of you as are interested in reading?!?).

THE WORLD IS MINE!

Seriously, this is all pretty much a dream come true for an extrovert like me. But the other night, I began to wonder, "How much is too much?"

With three of our children currently living away from home, I find myself inundated with communication in various forms. The other night, I was lying in my bed typing a "quick" email to Shulamith. My cell phone rang, and I began a conversation with my mom in Portland. Just then, Luke called on our home phone, so I quickly ended the conversation with my mom in order to talk to Luke. Right then, a text came in from Eli telling me what time he needed to be picked up from work. I quickly replied to Eli's text, all the while talking to Luke on our home phone and continuing my email to Shulamith. Next came a text from Gerald: "Isaiah's on Facebook right now. If you go on, you could chat with him." I immediately open Facebook and begin to chat with Isaiah. By now, I've said goodbye to Luke, and just as I flip back to my email to Shulamith, an email comes in from her: "Matt and I are headed out longboarding, so I'll have to write more later...as in tomorrow." Ack, even if I do get her email finished and sent, she won't even get it until tomorrow!

So how much is too much? My conclusion is there's never too much when it comes to communication with one's children. So Luke, Shulmaith, Isaiah, Eli.....if you're out there reading, keep 'em coming! Emails, phone calls, text messages, Facebook posts....it's all good. I love hearing from you. More than you can possibly know. I miss you, and I'm profoundly thankful for the miracle of modern communication, even if sometimes it's a bit overwhelming.