Face to Face

In today’s day, the day of the Internet, the text messaging, the drive thru coffee, outsourcing, working from home, etc. Are we killing out chances for human interaction? What will our kids be doing? It seems like you want your kid to play with another kid, you have to plan a date with the mother. You have to pay for a class when most of the time it is the same stuff they do at a park.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am queen of convenience. I could be a huge contender for the world’s largest Internet junkie. Well that isn’t true, I am a little cooler than those people. But my life pretty much revolves around the computer. And what is sad is that my job is probably only 20% of my computer crap. I am the person who rejoiced in email. I finally had a place to break up with boyfriends, cancel plans, and ask a friend to meet me somewhere, all with the protection of non face-to-face interaction. Had I not found both my husbands face to face, I know I am the kind of person who would have looked in my little magical box of fun to find my prince charming. Luckily I met Andrew on the last day of 2000. When I wasn’t yet under the webs full possession. You can only imagine my utter happiness with the invention of text messaging. You mean I can email a person and text a person and never have to talk on the phone? Wow! Sounds great! And it is. Again it is another thing I think is fabulous, yet is it hurting me in the end?
I can’t remember the last time I walked into a Starbucks and waited in line and got my coffee from a pierced up gal named Punky who hollers “Kim” when it is ready. When I, and I have really cut back, am at Starbucks I wait in line in my car. I listen to my music, err rather my kids music. I don’t fuss with car seats and the hassle of life. I sit in my car and eventually I have my coffee handed to me, in my car. Convenient? Of freaking course that is convenient, but again am I hurting myself? 3 years ago I met, again, Kibberts, in line at Starbucks at our local grocery store. That was all we had before our big fancy drive thru one came up. We went to high school together in another town together, her dad was our Vice Principal. We liked each other and talked at school, but hung with different crowds back then so we never really hung out outside of school. Well she says we went to a game together, but I really don’t remember that much. I’m sure it happened though dear. I’m sure. So when I hear my name all foggy eyed from having a 10 week old at home, I look up and saw my girl Kibberts. It took a few minutes to register who this was and once I realized I was so excited to see her. She told me she lives in BFE just like me; we are a few miles apart. Then she told me the awful news about her husband and his accident, he was still in the hospital and suffering from a major brain injury. I told her a little about Lily who had just recently had brain surgery. We then exchanged digits. Although it took awhile to get together with her husband recovering and all, about a year later we all met up for breakfast and it has been kismet since. Although that long story wasn’t necessary, I guess I just think about how any chance for convenience I will take it. And I hate to think had we had that drive thru I might have looked in my rear view mirror and seen Kibberts and thought, that looks like Kibberts, but what could I have done?
Now I know we probably would have found each other on MySpace or whatever, but I like our story the way it is. I like that it had nothing to do with convenience that we met up.
I know I am not saying anything original, or profound. We all know what direction technology is taking us in. I guess I have been thinking about it lately and although I like it. I don’t think I am supposed to like it.