This Christmas was a technology-themed gift year in our house.  I would presume that we weren’t alone in this phenomenon.  With such a myriad of options out there –smartphones, iPods, tablets, laptops, tv’s, cameras, video and audio equipment – the opportunities are practically limitless…all one needs are the funds.  And at this point, there is some sort of technology available for almost any budget.

As for us, this holiday we did our part to support the company with the big fruit logo on its equipment.  Both my husband and son got mini iPads, and spoiled me received a MacBook Pro so I can continue my quest to set up my own little writing corner in my house.  (We will pause here and listen to the long-distance gleeful cheer coming from my BFF who is a long-time Mac fan.)

There were a few other techy gadgets that made their way under the tree as well, like a Jambox audio speaker, and a new camera.  We now have plenty of toys to keep us entertained (along with much to learn!).  We have a rule that dinner time is a technology-free zone….but throughout the rest of the day, especially with new tools to play with, I have realized that we see the top of each other’s heads much more often than our faces, as we are bent over some screen or other, tapping away. This morning over breakfast I actually had to tap the kitchen table to get my son’s attention.

What has amazed me is not necessarily the gadgetry, but the sheer quantity of things in the house now that have to be plugged in and recharged.  We have technology cords and chargers everywhere… in the kitchen, in the living room, the bedroom – even the car.   There is now a nightly ritual before going to bed where each of us roams around looking for spare outlets so we can plug in whatever needs recharging.

When we built our house ten years ago, we thought we had more than enough outlets in each room.  Little did we know that we’d have such an increase of things to plug in!   Last night I found a cell phone laying in the middle of our Christmas village, plugged in to the same outlet that was being used to light the miniature houses.  That placement gets extra points for creativity.

Keeping track of each of these cords is a challenge in itself.  I frequently hear my son and husband discussing who’s cord is who’s and where did they last get left somewhere?  When we go on road trips, I put chargers and cords in their own Ziploc bags in the hope they won’t be lost along the way.

I’m sure before long we will see an increase in nifty fashionable products to assist in our cord-crazy society…. Perhaps banks of wall charger stations built in next to the coffee maker in the kitchen, or pretty bags and ties and labels for organizational purposes.  In the meantime,  I will continue my quest to find available outlets before my various techno-tools die, and hide my cords from the others in the family so they don’t get misplaced.

One of my sister-in-laws commiserated with me, saying that virtually everything she uses now needs to be plugged in – even her toothbrush.  She was wondering, however, where she could plug in her husband to be recharged.   Hmmmm, perhaps our friends at Apple can work on that next.