So much has happened, my being a columnist here included. Thanks to technology my thirst to express my literary skills found its home. How, you may ask? Well, for one, I met our kind editor cyberly --- thru a venue called MIRC. I dunno about other people but I chat to break the monotony of workin’. Especially on my worst bouts with my insomnia (been an insomniac since I was twelve!).

Thanks to technology, my sleepless nights have turned out productive. I’ve always been interested in technology, especially when it dealt with mechanical things or gadgets!

I loved video games, CB and ham radios, pagers, and cell phones and of course, my ultimate love – the computer! With the latter, I found out a way of making use of my time and dabbled in writing.

The computer is one of the best friends I’ve ever known! I can’t imagine my world without it! It’s been more than 15 years since I discovered the wonderful things a computer could facilitate for me. I’ve turned in many proposals, articles, presentations and press releases and this I did either in the comfort of my bedroom or anywhere I could find Internet connection!

One of the wonderful perks of being a columnist is being "heard" (or seen for this matter as our articles are obviously read). And every now and then, it warms the heart when I get email or texted reactions. Today I’d like to share one such email from another working mom. Here’s a mom that certainly puts technology to good use if not to the hilt. (this email is being published with her permission).

"I HAVE TEENAGERS,

PRAY FOR ME"

So goes the bumper sticker given to me by a friend for my van. It is true that raising teenagers is hard, but given the recent developments in technology, I can definitely say that this task has been eased somewhat. I am a 41 year-old Mom with 4 boys, 2 of whom are in College and 2 in Grade School. Life is not a bowl of cherries for me so I need all the help I can get.

Technology…you are my friend! I wouldn’t have wanted to live in the 80’s as a Mom with 4 boys. I cannot imagine allowing my boys to go out without getting a text from them that they’ve arrived in their destination or that they’d be late in coming home from school or that they are already on their way home. I even store friends’ and girlfriends’ numbers in my phone book should there be a need to locate my sons through them. These boys of mine come home in the wee hours of the morning (not night) hence my assurance that they’re still alive and kicking is a call from me to them (to at least hear their voices or to check on their background/ambient sounds) or a text reply from them. The cell phone is my security blanket, it’s my virtual nanny so to speak.

While I am at work, I can still spy on my boys. Little do they know that Mom is invisible on "YM". I caught my son online once while it was supposedly school hours. He got the shock of his life when he got a buzz from "wieneke_mom" asking him what he was doing online. I can also check their multiply and friendster accounts taking note of log-ins and uploads. Hmm, what better way to get to know your children than through their friends, photos and blogs. Oops, mind you, I put my foot down on reading their blogs as that is too much of an invasion. Don’t you just love the internet?! Speaking of the internet, what is the most common site that males go to, including young teenagers, well porn sites of course! I used to check the history tab to keep tabs (no pun intended) on what sites my kids go to but unfortunately, they realized I was doing it and started clearing the history and caches.

I really cannot imagine how mothering was before these things were discovered. I guess then we left more to trust, trust in your own children and trust in the Lord to keep them safe. Of course I still do but I am just happy and fortunate that I too am a techie mom like you!

Jenny Wieneke

Makati City

Love hearing from you! techiemommy@gmail.com