OK, Computer

I was busy clacking away on my laptop this past Saturday while sitting in a chair in the living room when a tiny blond head peaked around the left side of my screen. It was my 1-year-old son Isaac, playing a game of peekaboo.

He was smiling and pretty pleased with himself for stumbling upon such a fun game. I should qualify this by saying that he was happy only for the first couple of minutes, that is. After that, he got frustrated and demanded to trade places with the MacBook so he could score some lap time of his own.

Ike can’t really talk yet, but clearly this was his way of uttering one of Lucy’s most frequent demands: “Mommy, put down the bonkuter.” That’s toddler speak for “Mommy, please put your computer away. You’ve been plugged in all day at the office. Now put that thing down and spend some quality time with your children, dammit.”

Lucy and Isaac are right. Between my laptop for freelance writing and fun (heavy emphasis on the latter) and my BlackBerry, which keeps me connected to the office, the Internet and my various email inboxes are never far from my fingertips. I know I’m not alone in this; with so many working moms and dads out there, I know I have plenty of company in the distracted-by-technology-while-at-home department. But that doesn’t make me feel any better for working or playing via the computer when the children are nearby and asking for my company.

The truth is, the connectedness to work while away from the office is a big thing that helps make working parenthood work. If I’m home with a sick child, I can keep up on my inbox while he or she is napping. I won’t return to work with an overflowing inbox the next day and I can be sure to accomplish any small tasks I can from afar. So I’m grateful for the technology that lets work bleed into my home life, even if my little ones don’t understand the blessing of that flexibility.

Until they do, I’m always up for a game of laptop peekaboo.