Together - yet not

We spent a nice evening at my daughter's house celebrating her birthday. She and her sister, (our other daughter) spouses and friends wanted to have a few drinks and crank up the music. But we called it an early night and brought our grandson home with us so they could have some adult time.

So we're sitting in the tiny living room of our beach cottage. I'm on the Internet. My husband is doing his daily puzzles from the newspaper. Mason? Well, he's 8 -- and wired. He brought with him: a laptop, a PSP, a Nintendo DSI, and a bag full of games, movies, cords of all kinds. He switches between the computer and the PSP, wearing his head phones most of the time.

On the flat screen T.V., Tim McGraw is singing his way through all of his hit songs. So we sit close, enjoying being together and enjoying our own thing.

Ah, technology.