File: Life

Whenever there's an occasion in my family, I try and call in to attend the party, even though I'm in Chicago. (Everyone else is in Florida.) I did that over the weekend to help my youngest cousin Barrie celebrate her 20th birthday. (As I side note, I feel so old that she's 20. I remember hearing the news that she was born and jumping up and down on my parents' bed because I now had a girl cousin.)

My mom and I were talking about that today. It's amazing how technology can make you feel closer, even when you're physically far apart. My aunt now prefers e-mail to phone conversation, which works well for me because I've never been able to nail her down on the phone because she's so busy. The web has enabled us to time-shift.

Before you start thinking that this is a post about how the Internet has enabled us all to communicate without ever having to talk, you're wrong. Similar to my feelings on the books and the Internet (book publishers will not close their doors because of the web), I think both can co-exist peacefully and one supplements the other.

My mom and I do it. She's a daily reader of Being Brandi. (Hi, Mom!) Part of what I write is because I want her to feel involved and know what's going on in my life, even if it is boring minutiae (see cute cat picture below) not worthy of long-distance or cell-phone bills. But, my mom and my friends are interested, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I mentioned to my mom that my friend Erica, who I got to see on Friday, told me about her mom's blog, Tricia Dishes. I read it and really like it.

My mom expressed a little bit of interest in a blog. So, I set her up with one. She wanted it to be called Mom's Pages, but that url was taken. So, my dad named it Mom's The Word. I'm excited for her. And, now I'll get to know what's going on in her life. Mwah ha ha.

No, really, I'm digging this whole technology thing.