As many of you may know, my wife and I just had our first baby and are in the thick of raising a 3 month old, while learning the trials and tribulations of all the gadgetry involved in doing so. Since her arrival, we’ve discovered that according to the baby stores, it takes no fewer than 47 batteries at any given moment to raise a healthy and happy child. The weekly trips to Costco are an all too clear display of how much we love our little daughter, and that we really missed our opportunity to invest heavily in Duracell. We’re rarely without a camera in our pockets to catch the first time she does, well, whatever it is she happens to be doing, because they’re all pretty much firsts!

The amazing part is that while she is entertained for short times by swirling monkeys and flickering lights, it’s no match for the simple times we spend playing with her ourselves, shunning the vibrating bouncies and automatic swings in favor of some good old fashioned peek-a-boo and some drool slathered sing-a-longs. While we want to capture every moment in pictures and videos, we’re missing the feelings and emotions of the moment.

For me, it’s a reminder that for all the joy, excitement and value we find in the technology we depend on to live our lives, it’s important to remember that the simple moments and personal interaction still can’t be beat. The joys from the smiles of a baby can’t always be appreciated through the lens of a camera. And the people we work with and the clients whose lives we make better are where the real happiness of our jobs comes from.