Using an old cell phone that has been converted into a toy, my son pretended to email people on his “blackberry” yesterday evening.  He sat there for 10 minutes, thumbing the keys in remarkable similarity to my own style.  When I asked him to come to the dinner table, he casually responded “I’ll be there in a minute after I finish this email.”  In fact, he didn’t even look away from his “blackberry” when he responded.

I wonder where he learned that one?

I am living in a virtual avalanche of email.  Too much, too often, and too many accounts are bogging me down.  Between all of my email accounts, I easily read over 250 emails per day. 

Years ago on the advice of someone on TV, I started to keep 2 personal email accounts.  One was for exclusively shopping online and the other was for personal correspondence.  When I started my own blog and began freelance writing 18 months ago, I opened another personal email account exclusively for that purpose.  My BlackBerry holds another personal account that doesn’t get much use but is there for emergencies.  Add to the mix the largest email, my work email… and well, you can see that a good portion of my life is managed by email.

When I was a teenager, I spent hours on the telephone.  Now I spend hours in front of my laptop or on my BlackBerry.  My communication tool has changed.  And it has become more invasive.

There are times where I love having email.  I can check-in on issues at work while at the park with my son.  I can send my spouse a reminder about Parent-Teacher Night and have the satisfaction of knowing that he can’t claim I “never told him.”  With the exception of my Grandma, every adult I know has an email account; making the geographic distance between us virtually non-existent.

When my son casually (and rather flippantly, might I say) shined a light on my email problem, I knew that something had to change.  How many times have I told him “just one minute“  or “after I finish this email” or ”mommy is busy right now“?  How many times have my eyes never looked up from the screen when he asked me a question?  When did my son learn that finshing that last email was the priority?

Sometimes a little moment can shake your reality.  It’s time for the laptop and BlackBerry to be put on stand-by during my time with my son.  At least, until he is old enough to send me an email.