Pregnant Communities

This morning at mass, the priest said that people are social beings who need communication and communities to survive and to better understand themselves. Perhaps that's why some folks have turned to the web: for self-expression and to keep in touch with current and future friends.

Hi! I'm Manuel and I've invaded Angelhouser for a while because my pregnant wife Angel flew off to a biz conference in Malaysia. As I write this, two of my buddies have sent me via SMS text news that their expectant wives are now in the hospital. One is getting ready for a c-section, while the other is waiting for her baby to reach full term.

I thought I'd never see the day: married men sharing news about their preggie wives via text messaging. Hmmm... maybe the world is about to end already?

It's amazing how far we've gone when it comes to keeping in touch. From shouting across open neighborly windows, to chatting over a waist-high wall, to yakking on the phone, or zipping handwritten notes via fax, to clicking over an email or publishing on the web, and now via sms text.

I dunno.... Perhaps our fast-paced lifestyles have made us lonelier faster, which probably explains why we oftentimes, throughout the day, search for that certain connection with ourselves, our friends and the rest of the world.

It's tough. But it's also a lot of fun.

As I stare at my calloused cellphone thumb, pound away at my keyboard, and gape at my increasingly illegible signature, I still smile knowing that our borderless community is fully alive, pregnant, and bustling with newfound hope for the future that lies ahead.