This is what my soon to be five year old remarked the other day when we were low on cereal. Part of me is slightly concerned that ordering groceries online might have my children believing that the "grocery guy" is like the tooth fairy. When our grocery stock-pile begins to lessen, he magically appears with bags of food lol.

Technology is already starting to spawn a reliance on convienence for them (what am I saying, I rely on it too). They expect any television show they are interested in to be readily available to watch at any time (thank you TiVo). "Just pop it in the microwave" and "Google it" are phrases commonly heard here. Need new shoes? My kids will recommend "getting online" and "ordering some". Looking for a specific antique toy?  "What about ebay?" my son quips.

Pretty soon I expect they'll wonder why gasoline can't be delivered or why the doctor doesn't do housecalls like Safeway does when we need groceries. I, of course, am thankful I don't have to dress and haul everyone all over creation to do shopping every week. It's convienent (and sanity saving) to shop in your pjs when the kids are tucked safely in bed. We've even done a majority of our Christmas shopping online for the last few years. Erik's birthday gift arrived from Amazon neatly wrapped, complete with a personalized card from the kids and me.

Yes, I suppose I rely on the internet about like my kids rely on TiVo to catch and record their favorite television shows. That reliance is definitely rubbing off on them. I'm sure in a way we are missing some sort of valuable teaching lesson in all of this but, I've got to tell you, it is so much easier to keep from going over the grocery budget when you see the ongoing total as you add things to your cart. I'm also less likely to forget something when I'm not constantly distracted by they three year old saying, "hey mom, look at this!" Plus, I can ask Erik if he needs anything and on a break he can hop out to the site...log on and add the things he needs to the cart. It's beautiful I tell you.

Of course, at some point I need to make sure my four year old understands that we actually do pay for those groceries and there is no magic involved whatsoever :) In the meantime, she can believe that TiVo, "the grocery guy" and "the air guy" (AC went out) are fairies sent to make her life a little easier.