Pop!

I'm a little slow to this whole technology thing...I'm still impressed that we have email and don't have to write daily letters that require numbering.  That said, I totally love to use the internet to chat with my deployed husband.  We use the Facebook chat feature, though I know there are other options.  What cracks me up is my behavior.  I open up Facebook as soon as I turn on the computer in the morning, and I leave it open all day, closing it right before I go to bed.  That way, my husband can hopefully catch me when he has a moment.  Of course, I have to turn the volume up to the highest level so I don't miss him if he does get on.

The downside to this great technology is that one day I'm going to break my leg trying to get to the computer.  I can't possibly be the only person who hears that "pop," hops up, and runs across the house, leaping laundry and swinging around bannister so that I don't miss him.  It is sort of comical, and sort of ridiculous, and sort of fun all at the same time.  Right until I break something.

Comments

[Basinah]

Honey, I can go you one better! When we got hubby's deployment notice, I went and got a BlackBerry. Actually pulled the "my hubby is military and ..." act with the mobile phone company and got the upgrade to the BB for free! So I leave MSN open all day, and all night ... and changed the sound to something I will hear ... just in case ... I am sure a mental health professional would have comments about people like us.
I love this post; it means I'm not the only one!!!!

[DL Sly]

Nope, you're not the only ones. I use different sounds for pretty much everything on my computer -- a constant source of amusement for most of my friends -- so I know what just happened even if I'm across the room or down the hall.
heh

[Penny]

.. I've actually knocked over items and maybe might've pushed aside my little brother once.. heh..

Dh has been a bit more helpful when it comes to that. He now txts my cell phone to let me know he's online and then I go & log online. Although that can sort of be complicated too.

Last month, I was on my way to the store and was midway between the house and the store when I got this msg "I need to talk to you. It's important. And you won't be able to hear from me for x days."

It took literally a second for me to decide to turn back around and head home. That's the normal response right? ^_~

[Jessie]

As a milspouse and counselor I say that our reactions are totally normal...or so I tell myself! Yeah, I have an iPhone so that even when I'm not home he can reach me over IM.

I was feeling sorry for myself not too long ago and the fact that GI Joe is gone so much, and my Grandma a Navyspouse of many years reminded me that I have it so much better than she did- she had to wait on letters, and the very rare phone call. So I guess I'm blessed that all I have to do is make sure my laptop and phone are charged so that GI Joe can chat while he is gone.

[BudsGirl]

I have a Sony Ericsson fully equiped with Yahoo! Messenger and it is always on 24/7... he can even call me from his computer vs having to go to the phones and it saves so much money 1C min calls via net vs 1C min calls via phone center. You should see me when my phone shows witheld! Even our daughter London knows when Dada is calling... thank God for Yahoo! calls.

[julie]

I am sure glad to hear that i am not the only one out there who is waiting for the computer to say YAHOO my man has been deployed since late october and after 8 months it gets hard but i know what he is fighting for and it is really worth it. I cant imagine not having any type of comunication with him, i honestly dont know how the spouses did it back in the days. there was a message in a fortune cookie "Counting time isnt as important as making Time Count" this is the motto that my boyfriend and i live by.

[SwordsmansWife]

ditto she by the sea!

[Erica]

My AIM buddy list is set to play a sound when he signs on or off. I crank the volume way up.

I've used it to wake up before. On Memorial Day I even set the laptop up just inside the door so in the midst of hanging out with my family in the backyard I could hear. I think I startled my mother when I suddenly leapt out of my chair and flew into the house...

[HomefrontSix]

Yup. My cell phone is attached to me 24/7 when MacGyver is gone and the computer is running 24/7 as well. I've been known to leap tall buildings in a single bound (well, Lego buildings...) to get to the computer or cell phone if it goes off while he's gone. It's an additional appendage.

You're not the only one.

[ArmyMomx2]

Yep, "back in the day" it was harder to communicate, but the days away were not almost years away. My kids are gone and I hear from them regularly in so many ways. Ya'll are far better military spouses than many of the old school spouses were-Bravo!

[wynter]

As a former military member it means a lot to me that u ladies do everything ur doing to keep in touch with your men. And trust and believe it means the world to them. Sometimes that one phone call keeps them moving!! Keeps them going on!! I don't think you all are "crazy". I think its great!!!

[melinda]

My husband left on last Wednesday, and Saturday night I fell asleep with my laptop open on his side of the bed, waiting for the ping from Skype to let me know he had arrived safely. Luckily, I woke up with it still open, and not in a crumpled heap on the floor...

[Sarah]

Back in 2004, my husband and I used Yahoo Messenger. It was before wifi, so our computer was upstairs and I was often downstairs. I too used to crank the volume full blast and nearly break my neck running. The funny thing is that you can customize your sounds on Yahoo, so I used the Futurama theme song, one of our favorite TV shows. Even now, five years later, my response to hearing that song is downright Pavlovian: my heart still leaps every time I hear the first few notes :)

[Andysbethy]

Same here, to pretty much everything that has already been said. However - doesn't anyone else use Skype? It is wonderful because it has video, as well as voice and IM. You can choose any and all of these features. I use all three - hubby uses video and IM. He can't use voice, because he works a strange shift and there are people sleeping just a thin layer away, and he tries not to be rude and wake them... I keep telling him if they can sleep through A-10's they can probably sleep through him talking to his kids, but my love is a gentleman, and I can't fault him for that!
I am daily thankful for technology. I swear, I go NOWHERE without my cellphone. I was a Psych major in college, and I refuse to think there is anything wrong with that!