Just a Skype Video Call Away

Back home in Ottawa. It's always a little bit of an adjustment to get back to reality after spending the holidays surrounded by family. It makes me think of how lucky we are, though, to live in a time where it's still easy to keep in touch with each other despite the distance.

Once upon a time, and I'm talking about the '80s and '90s, we could only speak to our grandparents on the phone and send letters like chumps. I'm all for keeping the written letter, but now families can be part of each other's day-to-day lives no matter where they are.

Thanks to e-mail, Facebook and Flickr, my family back home can't get rid of us. They can be provided with all the latest "guess what your grandson can do now" stories, photos and videos. Here he is dancing in his Jolly Jumper! Here he is in the monster truck jammies you bought him! Here he is with velcro rollers stuck to his head! LOL, etc.!

And then there's Skype, which is great because allows my folks to see my son in action. By "action" I usually mean "trying to climb onto the computer".

I have to say Skype is kind of dodgy for us, though, 'cause the audio stalls and becomes choppy and robotic, so much of the conversation consists of, "hold on! It's frozen again! What?! Sorry, go ahead. What?!"

Add to that the already-grainy image that is always freezing (mid-blink or mid-chew, naturally). My dad said himself that he looked to be right out of "Tales from the Crypt" on screen. In his defense, there wasn't the best lighting.

Soon enough, Sonny Boy will love to Skype with my folks. At the moment, though, I'm not sure if he recognizes that he's looking at human beings, let alone his grandparents. 

Hey, at least it's free. (Click to Enlarge)

All in all, though, can't complain. Modern technology lets us join each other for breakfast 1600 km away, and that's not too shabby.  Even if it is breakfast with the Crypt Keeper.

Happy New Year!