Heart Warmer #6 Communication Devices

The old ways are gone!
Whoever thought it would be impossible to find a phone booth?

I love that we live in an age where it is easy to communicate with friends and relatives that live in various areas of the world. Not only that but we can also meet lots of friends that we otherwise would never know. Some of the things I am grateful for are telephones, cell phones, Skype and the ability it gives us to not only talk to but to actually see those we are talking with on it. I do appreciate the fact that we can get news almost instantaneously and be more informed about the world around us.

Don't Leave Home Without It!

Living away from all of our children and grandchildren presents challenges that these things help us overcome. The greatest device in my opinion is the computer. On it we can communicate with anyone we choose and we can do it instantaneously and also at our own convenience. Not only that but we can choose various forms of social media to stay in touch with e-mail, Facebook, blogs so readily available~there are no good excuses to feel or be isolated. It comes as no surprise that my favorite of these is blogging. I think it is the best way available to be a part of each others lives when living apart. I also see it as the best way for extended families to stay close. For me it is the glue that keeps us from drifting apart and has all the potential we need to keep our family strong and closely knit together. And what set of parents doesn't want that for their children or themselves?

Instant photos! Love it!

Blogging is awesome!

Although some of these ways of communicating can be annoying like cell phones as an example, for the most part they have added a great deal to the quality of the life we enjoy. The culture hopefully will eventually catch up with itself and develop some better etiquette surrounding common courtesy when using them. I often wonder how we ever sent our kids out on dates without them, how we ever found each other while lost in a crowd, how we ever got help in an emergency? The advantages far out weigh the disadvantages.

When we were first married and living away from our family it took almost a week to get a handwritten letter, plus money and time to get pictures developed and sent to our parents or siblings. When our adult children served as missionaries in foreign countries it took twice that amount of time. News was always old by the time it arrived. Now we can get in touch instantly for free or with very little cost and it is so wonderful! I love it.

Practically Gone But Never Forgotten!

When I was a child our grandparents lived in North Dakota and we were here in California. Long distance calling was so expensive and we didn't get to talk to them very often. Consequently we didn't know them very well. Now we can pick up the phone and chat with our grandkids whenever we want and vice versa. With some in Italy and some in Utah this is a wonderful blessing. It is the next best thing to being next door! We always want to be with our kids but when that is not possible electronic devices make our lives better, much much better.