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Confessions of a gadget addict— and why I may never be cured.

Hello, my name is Christie, and I am addicted to Convenience. I am Queen of the 2-in-1, Self-Propelled, One-Dish-Meal, Drive-thru, Delivery, and Online tools and services. I can’t help myself. And as with most addicts, I didn’t realize I had a problem until someone pointed it out to me. In my case, it was my husband, who came home from work a few years ago to find me distraught and close to tears over the fact that our local grocery delivery service had gone out of business. “What do I do now?” I sobbed. He looked at me with that “Are you serious?” face and replied, “Uh, you could go to the grocery store yourself?” Easy for him to say!

Fast-forward a couple of years and a few new inventions later, and you'll find me in a bigger house running my Swifter 2-in-1 action sweeper around the wood floor in my kitchen while my husband shakes his head and mutters, "You and your gadgets."

He really crossed the line, though, the day I brought home pre-chopped veggies. "Ever heard of a knife?" he asked. Hmph! That hurt a bit, and it did make me question my methods. Was I really that lazy? Is it cheating to use shortcuts for my daily tasks? I began to think that if I needed assistance to do basic everyday chores, I must be incapable of being an acceptable homemaker. I was seriously doubting my abilities and wondering if I was completely alone.

Necessity Is the Mother of Invention

Let's be realistic: In this modern electronic day and age we all depend on convenience in some way. Honestly, food processors and online banking wouldn't have been invented if there wasn't a need, right? Of course, as the sea of timesavers rises, so do expectations-at least for me. I want every store I frequent to have delivery service or a drive-thru pickup. And really, what was so bad about full-service gas stations? Pay-at-the-pump is fantastic, but I would really rather have a robotic arm that works the nozzle while I sit in my warm car and continue to update my never-ending to-do list.

It's scary to think that I'm addicted to something. But what's even scarier is that there are people (beside the Amish) who think many of these shortcuts are unacceptable, and that those who use them are cheating or taking the easy way out. I'm also finding that this criticism comes in the form of an antiquate mother or mother-in-law-type person reminiscent of Marie Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond. Nothing cleans better than the good old-fashioned mop or the hands-and-knees method? I have to ask: What the hell do you do all day that gives you time to get on your hands and knees to scrub the floor?

It's all about lifestyle. If you were in my sneakers for a day, which is crammed with children (one here and  one on the way), a writing career, client meetings and housework, you'd be begging for a Roomba to run itself around the floor picking up goldfish crumbs and other kid-dispensed debris. I'm still waiting for the Roomba that climbs stairs or runs along countertops and bathtubs. (I'm also waiting for the existing models to become more affordable!)

Telltale Signs of Addiction

I started my reign as the Queen of Convenience well before I had children. It began when I launched my own business six years ago, a project-management firm that specialized in corporate relocations. It was a extremely time-consuming and physically demanding profession. As any entrepreneur knows, in the beginning you really have to hustle to get things going, and that means long hours (sometimes without a shower or food). My business was home-based, and though I was home all day (with the exception of the occasional weekly client meeting), I was also at work all day.

Before I knew it, I would look at the clock and it would be 6 p.m. My hungry husband would be walking through the door any second and I had yet to even think about dinner, let alone cook it. To add insult to injury, I hadn't done any grocery shopping! Hence the need for my beloved delivery service that I am still mourning over. Now, as a mother and someone still working from home, (though with a new profession as an author and life coach) I still find convenience an essential part of my life. In my household, which is now dual-entrepreneurial (my husband is now the CEO of his own corporation), balancing home-work and work-work is next to impossible, especially with a 22-year-old and the due date for my second child fast approaching. Not to mention that no two months of income are ever the same, so time is certainly money around here.

In short, my addiction to convenience items is necessary for survival! If I'm supposed to dress and feed my children before school, put in a decent number of billable hours to contribute to our household income keep the house reasonably clean, ensure that everyone has clean underwear for the week, have food in the refrigerator as well as simmering in pots by the time everyone gets home (including myself from the 9,000 errands and picking up my daughter), feed, bathe and dress her for bed and still be sexy by midnight...um, you bet your sweet ass I'm going to need a few shortcuts. No box that states "microwave not recommended" will ever darken my pantry or freezer-scrubbing bubbles will have at it in my bathtubs and toilets so I don't have to. I haven't even begun the "Soccer-Mom Shuffle"...shuttling kids to and from extra-curricular activities. I can only imagine what services and products I will employ when I do begin to work that song and dance into my routine.

Having It All and Doing It All

No matter what anyone says, most hybrid moms still secretly try to "do it all." But honestly, we can't even come close without help in some shape or form. We get all caught up in Supermom-wannabe land and read those "Make Your Life Simpler" magazines with all of their tips and tricks. Truthfully, those are part of my addiction, too. I thumb through the pages and think, "Geez, I wish I had time to read this, let alone master the suggestions inside." I guess I will have to subscribe to the ones with podcasts so I can listen to them while driving or vacuuming...since I can't afford a Roomba.

These magazines often profile high-powered women and how they "have it all" and "do it all" with four kids and a rewarding career as CEO of a major corporation. I have to wonder if such stories somehow failed to mention the live-in housekeeper/cook, two nannies, chauffer and personal assistant these women have at their beck and call, giving us regular moms a false sense of confidence that we can be just like them when we grow up.

As much as we would like to clone ourselves or at least hire a part-time mother's helper, right now it's just easier to employ the little things that cut our tasks down to a manageable level. We don't need to apologize for it and we shouldn't be afraid to ask for them. Depending on convenience items and services...even flextime at work...it's not a crutch or taking the lazy way out. It's the energy that powers the fuel-efficient model of the hybrid mom.

Why do I love convenience so much? Not because I'm lazy. As a true hybrid mom, I don't have time to be lazy. But I do believe in taking care of myself. I believe I once heard Dr. Phil say, "If momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy." It's not about being the boss or "my way or the highway." As the CEO of my household, I must make sure it runs on auto-pilot as much as possible.

Dr. Phil actually did say something to the tune that the best thing a mother can do for her family is to take care of herself. For me, that is employing things that cut down my chores, errands and meal preparation so that I have a few moments to gather my sanity once in a while. It's actually not really convenience we are after. Convenience almost sounds like a dirty word; it does kind of ooze laziness. Saying it too much can imply that you're not willing to put in the effort. What we hybrids are after is actually efficiency. We're after life balance. We want our households to run like a well-oiled machine!

Dispelling the Lazy Myth

So back on the fact that I felt I was alone in my addiction (or maybe it is just an obsession). I was glad to find that that was not the case. To test if I was truly crazy (or lazy), I asked other moms about their secret vices. I was elated to find that my condition was not-so-secret. They love grocery delivery, too. Pre-made meals and dry-cleaning delivery were among the favorites. What do you know...I have a support group!

Some of my mom-friends also asked their moms what they thought of the availability of efficiency boosters today. I'm realizing that the Donna Reeds and June Cleavers of old are now willing to accept the new and improved models for cleaning and cooking. Especially when they are secretly (or not so secretly) wishing these items and services existed when they were raising a family.

As far as husbands go, with their "My mom used to..." stories, we just listen politely and think, "Yeah, buddy, that was 30 years ago, okay?" What I have come to understand is that these guys are remembering their mothers' methods through a child's eyes. Their moms were, in essence, perfect to them, with spotless homes and three-course balanced meals three times a day. Truth be told, Mom probably had her own tricks of the trade and she never let them see her sweat.

My own dear husband has really come around, especially after the birth of our now 2 ½-year-old daughter. Now that we are expecting our second child and I am moving much slower these days, he can truly appreciate a home-cooked meal prepared with pre-cut/cooked ingredients. In fact, on a recent trip to a bulk store he purchased a big bag of pre-cooked, pre-cut chicken for me so that I could prepare my signature one-dish meals with ease.

He can now appreciate the Carpet Flick that is easily operated by our toddler, and she's tickled that she can suck up her own goldfish crumbs. She can also dust herself silly with the Swifter Duster (also toddler-friendly) and not re-deposit the mites all over the house. My husband has embraced the cleaning wipe and abandoned the unsanitary sponge, and he's completely forgotten that he ever protested the hiring of a bi-weekly housekeeper or getting his dry cleaning delivered.

Embracing my addiction, or at least realizing that it is justified by my fellow hybrids (and my husband), convinces me that I never want to recover. o

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