Although I am pretty tech savvy (and dh is pretty good, also), we have avoided some of the latest (as in, the last ten years or so) technological advancements ... Game cube, Wii, iphones, cable tv, HDTV, TIVO, ipod ... well, I think you get the picture. Some of the deprivations have been purposeful: we don't want to teach the kids that life is all about entertainment ... that personal entertainment devices (ipods or xbox) are a better substitute for playing games with siblings ... Some of the deprivations have been "just can't afford" issues: sure is a lot cheaper to have a free cell phone with our contract than to buy the iphone on top of the contract commitment!
But, since we've settled in
rural Virginia (God willing, permanently), we have been getting more and more into the 21st century -- yes, it's paradoxical, but that sort of sums us up! We have digital cable and can wifi when people come visit! These are conveniences which really help us ... especially dh as he's able to do his grading/classwork remotely so he's home instead of hanging at school and can bring the laptop into the bedroom and still connect to school. Digital cable has also allowed us to watch college football as a family (even occasionally getting LSU coverage up here in ACC territory!), great shows on EWTN and even Sherlock Holmes on PBS! Life is good in the 21st century.
I have even re-activated my Facebook account and am loving it! Originally, I opened it to keep an eye on my college-bound ... but decided that was a bit creepy, even voyeuristic. But now I'm finding that Facebook is a GREAT tool for me:
- reconnected with old friends from our various abodes (including far-flung folks from our years in Austria)
- connected to knitting and free-lance writing folks
- ability to talk to family wall-to-wall
How cool is that? I'm also tapping into a larger world of homeschool folks, good opinion pieces and world-wide news.
We are in the 21st century! What else could we possibly need?
Well, it looks like Santa (shhhhhh, don't tell the kids, please!) will be bringing us a
Wii (including the
Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board). This is both a social and a financial decision. We have had so many different families tell us how fun the Wii is for the whole family: bowling, tennis, etc from the comfort of the living room. This is NOT a personal entertainment device, but rather a family-night boon! The three littles have been lobbying for this particular Santa-gift for the past year or so ... this year, they've talked dh and I into also signing the Santa letter to, and I quote, "make sure that he knows he only needs to bring us a Wii for the whole family". Cool huh? And financially, the Wii is $100 less than it was and we can get other games for Little Christmas and the kids, dh and I will be having a blast throughout Christmas break!
What more could we want? Isn't the 21st century fun -- now that we're 10 years in?
... 
