Honoring Fatherly Efforts
Gifts are cool. But I don’t really need a present on Father’s Day. Simply spending time with my family is all that I want. Though it would be nice if all my tech behaved too. Then I could really kick back, if just for the one day.
Perhaps the real present I crave is the gift of a smoothly operating home ‘system.’ All status lights glowing green. But 24 hours for that kind of tech Zen is hardly enough.
The good news is my tech reality at home is not so dire. My little kingdom operates well enough. But there’s always something to do. Technology is rarely a set it and forget it proposition.
As I consider all this, I think I may be blurring the meaning of Father’s Day to include the larger ecosystem of my tech accessories and digital minions. Do I somehow want them to honor my fatherly efforts as well?
Of course, that’s not how it works, at least not yet.
But this larger topic has inspired me to create another… poem. *
Buckle up. (This one’s really silly.)
Smart for One Day
I rule my domain like a Wi-Fi crazed king,
I monitor, update, and manage each thing,
The sprinklers, the HVAC, the hot water too,
If it beeps, then it answers to you-know-who.
The router is moody? The system is slow?
The bandwidth gets tight. Where did all of it go?
My son streams in 4K. My wife on a call,
And now it’s my job to untangle it all.
I just want one morning where nothing has crashed,
Where no pings or notifications have flashed,
Where the AC runs coolly like it should do,
And sprinklers don’t ambush me out of the blue.
I want my warp engines to purr without fail,
I want all my updates to roll out and sail.
I want my smart home to be smart for one day,
Without rebooting in a glitchy display.
Just gather the family and let the day flow.
And bask in the warmth of the people I know.
Just my wife and son and a house running right,
And maybe some cake to enjoy with delight.
A fork with chocolate cake is all I need,
A generous slice is a glorious deed,
And maybe my son tells a joke that’s so bad,
It makes it the greatest day ever for Dad.
So here is my wish, and it isn’t that tall,
One day where my tech doesn’t fumble and fall,
Where we laugh and slow down and revel in this,
The geekiest, sweetest of Father’s Day bliss.
* More At Home with Tech poetry:
My Ode to the Fading Winter
I Made this “Holiday Ode to Mr. Tech” Video Using AI
Ode to the Distant Tracks at Grand Central Terminal
Ode to the IT Guy on Father’s Day
