( Hi Elena! :-P )

Interesting...

I have been floating up and down I-95 for approximately three weeks having a blast with the wee people when I get this call from an old friend who stumbled across The Sunshine State from logging on-line. I don't know which Google link was responsible because I didn't think to ask, but now I am wondering if it was Facebook, Twitter or one of my ActiveRain blogs that resulted in my being spanked for not calling her.

After all, it is a fellow New Yorker who happily relocated to the Sunshine State several years ago that rarely gets to see me (and usually does when she travels to New York) so I have no idea why I didn't call her. I've been living on two cell phones and a laptop the entire time we've been running amok (which is why I like Facebook and Skype. You can share little happy moments about your day with a video conference call and/or live vicariously through each other's regular life through impromptu cell phone shots, vacation videos and photographs published on-line).

Zoo Train, Stingray, Indian River and The Sunshine State / Turkey Creek were fun eye candy projects to do with the wee people. I guess I was so preoccupied with entertaining my kids I didn't stop to think about how other parents with kids may have felt about being left off of our crazy roll call. She and I used to talk so much on the phone in New York that AT&T thought my girlfriend was my dial-up Internet Service Provider (in the late nineties when they contacted me to offer me a better home phone rate and on-line plan I discovered they were erroneously tracking our "connection" usage - LOL) so my not calling now when I am so close by is kinda inexcusable.

I am publicly apologizing to my girlfriend Elena for not interrupting her day with our brand of daily family madness (LOL). Yes, I should have called like I did the last time I crossed the FL boarder. I will call you when I come back several weeks from now. I will also call you more just to say hello and make it my business to poke you on Facebook and leave some ironic, digital graffiti on your profile wall just to see if you logged on (like a link to this post for instance - LOL). ;-) 

When did we get so used to dealing with our loved ones through our social media accounts that we don't pick up the phone and call an old fried who lives less than an hour away because we are so used to our family and friends reading our blogs?

I just found myself sitting here thinking that this was very interesting... If people you have in common don't have the same technological habits that you do, you may inadvertently spend less time with them AND NOT NOTICE because you are so busy spending your quality time with everyone else who is down with your social media digital program.

We're so addicted to social media and tech gadgets in my household that my hubby will call me on his cell from the lawn rather than walk back into the house to have a conversation. I am also guilty of sending text messages from my bench in the bedroom to my hubby while he's sitting on the couch watching a movie in the living-room... It really wouldn't kill me to walk a few feet, eh? Then again, I might miss something really cool during a Skype party, commit a faux pas and die a social media digital death (and we all know we can't have that, now can we - LOL). 

Yes, it's true. I am sooooo easily amused and frequently laugh on-line with my friends while spoofing about the dumb things that I frequently do, however, some social blunders require public acknowledgement and apologies.

Today's blogger reality check: It appears I may need to spend more face to face time with the people that I care about. I also have to add more people to my road trip itinerary for the next trip down. If I add anyone else today my kids are going to miss the first day of school in New York...

Shhhh... don't tell them I even considered it because more beach and pool time plus spending Rosh Hashanah with their Jewish grandfather while their Christian grandfather gives them more driving lessons on their favorite tractor might win me a wee people brownie point award from Mr Autism and Mr PDD-NOS and a verbal spanking from their educators (LOL).

Did I mention my girlfriend Elena owns two horses and has a jacuzzi, pond and pool? Yeah... a delayed departure is a very tempting idea my boys would LOVE to entertain... Seriously. ;-)