"Auto Repair in a Modern Family" or "My First Challenge as a "Temporarily Single" Mom"

Superman changed the oil in my car the day before he left. That was great. Unfortunately, the day after he left, my car started leaking oil. Let's be clear here: I know very little about cars. I've always counted on the men in my life to handle my auto repair issues. Valiant, however, is too young to take over for his dad in his absence. So, I did whatever any modern woman would do:

I got on Skype with my husband...showed him a picture of the oil spot...by walking outside with the computer, tipping it down so the camera hit the garage floor and said, "See?"

Then I slid the laptop under the car...Virtual Husband, if you please.

Then I sent my son under the car for hands-on learning to troubleshoot the problem.

Ah, you've got to love technology! Hey, don't laugh! What would you have done?

Man, I love Skype...

My little brother is on active duty with the Navy overseas and even when he's not, he and my darling sister-in-law live 1300 miles from us. I haven't seen him in a couple of years, but with the magic of Skype, the kids and I got to visit with him yesterday! How cool is that? This is a screen shot of a moment in our conversation...not bad for free internet video phone, is it? It was so good to see him as well as talk to him.

This week I've gotten to talk with my sister, my sister-in-law and now my brother...all for free and all via Skype. Please, please tell me you're Skyping?

P.S. I also got to see my sister's new haircut via Skype yesterday (she's 2000 miles away), but I was too busy gushing over just how gorgeous it was to take a screen shot ...what was I thinking? (Seriously, it was gorgeous.)

Using Skype instead of the telephone...

A few of you have commented in response to my enthusiasm for Skype that you don't actually know what Skype is. I thought I'd take a minute to tell you what it is, so that you, too, will share my enthusiasm for Skype. My nearest family is 1300 miles away and we miss them terribly. Skype, however, is making that distance feel a little less, well, distant! Skype is a FREE program that allows you to talk to and see people anywhere in the world via your internet connection. It works for both Windows and Apple computers. You do not use your phone, you use Skype contact names and you can keep your contact list as locked down as you like (think: unlisted number--Skype searchers don't see me). For example, the way I have my contact list set up, when I want to Skype my sister, I just click on her contact name and the computer "dials" her. If her Skype is up (even if it is inactive), she will here a tone on her computer letter her know I'm initiating a call. If she is there and available, she accepts the call. If she's not there, or just not available, she doesn't answer. It is that simple.

You also can have more than one person on the call at a time and not everyone needs to have the same technical capabilities. For example: my downstairs computer didn't have a mic or a camera for a little while, so I could hear and see my sister (and my son in the dorms - we did a conference call!), but I could type my answers to the conversation. I was able to participate, listen to them chatting, and still be part of the call. One $30 lap top camera and I'm fully participating from this computer.

Now that I have my sister and my son on Skype, I'm working to get my dad and my sweet sister-in-law. I love it...no long distance charges and you can see the person you're talking with. You can hold up fabrics, art pieces, paint chips, you can even pull your children in front of the computer and make them do tricks, really, just about anything. How fun is that?For more details about Skype, head to Skype.com and check it out yourself. (Do you think I put enough links to Skype in this post for you?) That is how much I love Skype...even if my sister and my son are both unavailable while I type this--grrrr.