Two-way communications
We're having fun with technology these days. My whole family is "skyping", and if you've been hiding out in a cave in Waziristan with the Taliban, you might be forgiven for missing this incredibly cool communication tool.
The decision to move to Chicago was extremely painful for my husband and me. We had made the kinds of friends that come around once in a lifetime. We had settled down in a place where we felt like such an integral and organic part of our community. We couldn't have raised our kids in a better environment. I had a great job with fun, smart, sweet, amazing co-workers with whom I'm doing a LOUSY job of keeping in touch. Most importantly, however, we were leaving my family.
But as tough as it was on us, that was nothing compared to how tough it was on my parents and my beloved abuela. My mother couldn't talk to me for months before we moved. She was too completely heartbroken to trust herself to speak. That hurt most of all.
Two things have made this move less painful than it could have been for my parents. One has been this blog, especially when I post pictures. Mom has been able to keep up with the ups and downs of our new scene. It has allowed her to glimpse into her babies' quotidian growth and development. In someways, it has allowed me to communicate with her in a more complete and personal way than I ever did face-to-face.
The other saving grace has been Skype. Skype is an internet-based program that allows users with their computer, a video camera and a microphone, to enjoy real-time face-to-face communication with other subscribers. It's extremely user-friendly and it's free. Almost all of the family is linked up now. My kids think it's the coolest thing since kosher candy stores. As soon as I get home they start with,
"Mommy! Mommy! Can we skype someone today?"
Their usual skypees are my parents and my big sister. My son has figured out how to log in and call his family and he generally hogs the screen, as well. He chats, he mugs, he tells jokes. He is silly, charming, and sweet and more effusive than I'm used to. The little girls have also caught the skype bug. The ballerina shows off her arabesques, her artwork and her toys, and any other random thing she finds lying about to thrust into the camera.
"D'ya see that?" She asks, eagerly.
The baby sits on her brother's lap and waves at the screen and gurgles and babbles away happily.
And my mom eats it up. What grandmother wouldn't?
Of course, there are downsides to the whole skype-phenomenon.
"What did you do with your hair?" My mother quipped one time. "I see you're doing laundry, she noted while peering into the background of the blurry screen another time.
Yem. I muttered to myself as I smoothed back the flyaways.
There are downsides to blogging as well. I spoke to a friend on the phone the other day. She asked me about my daughter's ballet classes and the snow over the holidays, and some other events I had mentioned in previous postings. Meanwhile, I had no clue what was going on with her or her family, or with anyone else back home! I felt decidedly out-of-the-loop.
I suspect friends and family don't call quite as much, either, because they don't really need to. It's mostly all here. The truth is that I don't mind. I know my friends back home won't forget about me soon, and that I'm still as much a part of their world as they are of mine. This cyber-link back home eases the heartache I sometimes feel when I think of San Antonio.
Shopping helps, too!
I'd tell you all about the delicious boots I bought today after my new, hip friend told me they were all the rage in the Chicago orthodox scene; and the incredibly cute skirt I found to go with them, on clearance. But I won't. I'll dangle this teaser in front of you, so if you want more info, you'll need to offer up some good hometown dish!
The decision to move to Chicago was extremely painful for my husband and me. We had made the kinds of friends that come around once in a lifetime. We had settled down in a place where we felt like such an integral and organic part of our community. We couldn't have raised our kids in a better environment. I had a great job with fun, smart, sweet, amazing co-workers with whom I'm doing a LOUSY job of keeping in touch. Most importantly, however, we were leaving my family.
But as tough as it was on us, that was nothing compared to how tough it was on my parents and my beloved abuela. My mother couldn't talk to me for months before we moved. She was too completely heartbroken to trust herself to speak. That hurt most of all.
Two things have made this move less painful than it could have been for my parents. One has been this blog, especially when I post pictures. Mom has been able to keep up with the ups and downs of our new scene. It has allowed her to glimpse into her babies' quotidian growth and development. In someways, it has allowed me to communicate with her in a more complete and personal way than I ever did face-to-face.
The other saving grace has been Skype. Skype is an internet-based program that allows users with their computer, a video camera and a microphone, to enjoy real-time face-to-face communication with other subscribers. It's extremely user-friendly and it's free. Almost all of the family is linked up now. My kids think it's the coolest thing since kosher candy stores. As soon as I get home they start with,
"Mommy! Mommy! Can we skype someone today?"
Their usual skypees are my parents and my big sister. My son has figured out how to log in and call his family and he generally hogs the screen, as well. He chats, he mugs, he tells jokes. He is silly, charming, and sweet and more effusive than I'm used to. The little girls have also caught the skype bug. The ballerina shows off her arabesques, her artwork and her toys, and any other random thing she finds lying about to thrust into the camera.
"D'ya see that?" She asks, eagerly.
The baby sits on her brother's lap and waves at the screen and gurgles and babbles away happily.
And my mom eats it up. What grandmother wouldn't?
Of course, there are downsides to the whole skype-phenomenon.
"What did you do with your hair?" My mother quipped one time. "I see you're doing laundry, she noted while peering into the background of the blurry screen another time.
Yem. I muttered to myself as I smoothed back the flyaways.
There are downsides to blogging as well. I spoke to a friend on the phone the other day. She asked me about my daughter's ballet classes and the snow over the holidays, and some other events I had mentioned in previous postings. Meanwhile, I had no clue what was going on with her or her family, or with anyone else back home! I felt decidedly out-of-the-loop.
I suspect friends and family don't call quite as much, either, because they don't really need to. It's mostly all here. The truth is that I don't mind. I know my friends back home won't forget about me soon, and that I'm still as much a part of their world as they are of mine. This cyber-link back home eases the heartache I sometimes feel when I think of San Antonio.
Shopping helps, too!
I'd tell you all about the delicious boots I bought today after my new, hip friend told me they were all the rage in the Chicago orthodox scene; and the incredibly cute skirt I found to go with them, on clearance. But I won't. I'll dangle this teaser in front of you, so if you want more info, you'll need to offer up some good hometown dish!
posted by law school widow at 9:17 PM
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