Gadget geeks gone wrong…

You all know I’m a total gadget geek.  I love all kinds of gadgets…phones, computers, game consoles, you name it…we’ve got it.  Xbox, 360, Wii, PSP, DS, DS light, iPhone, iPad, in-car-MP3… All of it.

I love all that stuff.

But today on the way home from church, I saw the dark side of our collection of goodies.

On the way home from church this afternoon I was driving through the canyon with a car full of gadget geeks…

• Michelle trying to get the maximum score on Words With Friends on the iPhone
• Marcus squishing the pigs with Angry Birds on the iPad.
• Madison playing with her newest PSP game

All of us, driving in silence all the way home while each was immersed in their own little world.

It sort of reminded me of a trip a few years ago when a group of my buddies and I drove to Vegas in my van.  As we were in the car several of us were on our phones/email/facebook chatting back and forth WITH EACH OTHER in the same car. 

What a strangle little socially connected, and simultaneously isolating world we are creating.

Yes, I’m ignoring you!

 

Tonight as Michelle and I were downstairs reading the newspaper and relaxing, we called up to the kids…

Time to get ready for bed!

Of course, our perfect children all responded “OK” and we went back to reading and relaxing.  About 10 minutes later, we realized that we hadn’t seen any of them actually heading down to get ready for bed.

So, we repeated…

Time to get ready for bed.

And again, they replied with the familiar consent. 

But a few minutes later, there was still no movement towards the bedrooms.  So Michelle called up and asked…

Are you guys ignoring us? 

To which, our first born said, unsurprisingly, “No.  Sorry, Mom… I’m just finishing this level. (on the xbox, of course).

Our third-born, unsurprisingly said,

Yes.

But he said it in such a sweet, and kind way that we laughed rather than actually disciplining him or explaining that it was not OK to ignore instructions from Mom & Dad.

Ahhh… the life of the youngest…