A Little Technology Grief

Well, we suffered  two technology deaths in our family last week.  One of the boys very unfortunately jumped into a swimming pool with both his new cell phone and his new iPod Touch in his pocket.  He realized his mistake as soon as he hit the water, but alas, the damage had been done.

The rest of us were eating lunch at a restaurant at the time (he was at a friend's house), and I am the one that got the tearful phone call.  It was one of those horrible phone calls when you know something really bad has happened, but it takes a while to figure out what because the caller is so emotional they just can't get the words out.   It is only when you discover that there was no bodily harm that the emotional vise loosens a bit.  But only some, because in the eyes of an 11-year old, a mistake that destroys your two most prized birthday presents is pretty monumental.

(Of course, for the other family members at the table, that emotional roller coaster ride was a little longer.  They could tell from my expression and tone of voice that something really bad had happened, but couldn't tell what.   When Jason heard me ask if Jacob had put them on a towel and dried them off, he thought that perhaps he had somehow broken one or both of his front teeth off - again.)

The good news is that the cell phone has been resurrected.  Jason carefully dismantled it and dried it out, and now is about 98% alive again.  It has had a few moments when it acts funny and yesterday it started randomly calling people on its own, but other than that, it's fine.  (Sorry, Mom - that call from Jacob was not really from Jacob).

The iTouch was not so lucky.  It sits here beside me - sleek and shiny, but completely dead. 

It is, and will continue to be, a hard lesson to learn.  Jacob reports that every time that he's jumped into a pool since that day, he immediately gets a horrible, sinking feeling as soon as he hits the water.  So, perhaps this emotional pool baggage means that he will never make that mistake again.  Or perhaps that he will develop an unhealthy aversion to swimming - the verdict is still out on that one.

I, on the other hand waver between knowing that this will be a good lesson for him and feeling really bad for his loss, along a liberal amount of private angst/guilt mixed in over the fact that technology means so much to him (and me).

Not a fun place to be, really.  But definitely one of those "Life Lessons" that happen.