I (Cathy) have always appreciated and valued how technology, particularly Skype, can enrich our lives.  I have used it and other forms of real time communication (e.g., Face time, Zoom) in research to conduct interviews; in classrooms to allow my students to meet authors; and in my personal life to stay in touch with my children while traveling.  But this week, Skype took on a whole new level of personal meaning for me when my daughter prematurely gave birth, on the other side of the country.   Within a few hours of the birth, I could ‘see’ my daughter and knew she was all right.  Then my husband and I watched our new granddaughter. It wasn’t a still photograph, it was her in real time, moving and stretching, even crying.  What a gift.  To be able to be a part of something so precious, even when so far away. As a child I envisioned such things through The Jetsons cartoon.  I can’t even imagine what darling baby Everley will witness when her grandchild is born.  Beam me up, Scottie?  Perhaps.  Right now I am content to experience Skype and appreciate the joy it brings into our lives.

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