If you’re looking for a double standard in our house you need look no further than technology.  Both my kids are currently convinced I’m out to ruin them for-eh-ver since I’ve taken their phones (gasp), but mine might as well be padlocked to my belt.  It’s practically an appendage, and one I’m quite fond of.  The thought of frying it puts me in a cold sweat and losing the thing would cause a five alarm crisis around here.

Not because of my solitaire score…more because our life runs off the features on this handy dandy piece of technology.

10 reasons my phone ranks right up there with oxygen

1.  It’s my connection to the kids (which I fully recognize is ironic since I don’t want them pestering me 24/7).  If practice is cancelled or extended, they need an unexpected pickup from a friend’s house, or (the call I pray never to receive) there’s a crisis on school grounds…these are all times when being able to reach me quickly makes a difference.

2.  It’s the most efficient communication tool when T-man and Bear are out and about playing.  Their range has expanded as they’ve gotten older so now they could be anywhere from down the street to the other side of the neighborhood – it’s not like I can just pop my head outside and holler anymore.  Also handy: the GPS locator feature.

3.  It’s my lifeline to our contractor and, by extension, every human being going in and out of our house right now.  Considering the fact that a heads up increases by 200% the likelihood that I’ll keep those folks separated from our dogs, keeping hold of my phone is pretty critical.

4.  This phone is how I keep up with life.  For reals.  A calendar synced with BrightSide for all our family events, appointments, meetings, commitments in the evening or on weekends, sports, travel…the list goes on and on.  I’d love to think I’m superhuman and could keep all this straight in my head, but I’m more realistic than that.

5.  Productivity.  Not jeez, she’s always got her face in that screen kind of productivity.  More like the power of options.  Realize I didn’t respond to an e-mail?  I can shoot one off before heading into a meeting.  Extra time in the car rider line?  That’s an ideal time for returning calls or scheduling appointments.  Realize I need something last minute?  I can text BrightSide to ask if he’ll pick it up on the way home.

6.  Instant Google access.  ‘Nuff said.

7.  GPS isn’t just for tracking kid locations.  Directions to a new office or store, getting someplace when we’re away from home…I hear there’s even an app on there that would help me remember where I parked my car.  Whaaa?

8.  Alarms, alarms, alarms.  Yeah, lots of people set a wakeup alarm but I’m juggling a whole lotta balls around here.  It’s not entirely unrealistic to think I might get distracted until twenty minutes past pickup time.  Or entirely forget Praise Team practice.  Shoot, sometimes I set an alarm so I remember when to start dinner.  Whatever gets you through the day, right?

9.  The superpower of texting.  Things I’ve managed by text: kids’ birthday parties, Skype calls, recipe tweaks, curfews, egg deliveries (yes, really), school volunteering, sports games and cancelations, and sisterly advice, just to name a few.

10.  It’s my online music source.  Amazon streaming stations paired with some excellent Bluetooth speakers equals entertainment while blogging, cleaning, packing, or [insert any often boring household activity here].