Back when mice were rodents

It was a strange new world of Amazon.com, research you couldn't necessarily trust, and a beeping and boinking dial up modem.

I honestly wasn't sure I needed it.

Fast forward to today.

Before leaving the house, I checked the hourly weather to find out what to wear. I check email at least five times before noon. I try to remember to check my actual mailbox every day. I took a class this morning online, using my computer's microphone to participate.

I'm aware my own children will have no idea what life was like before you could see what happened in China four minutes ago with the click of a mouse.

Maybe they'll even participate in events in China via an Internet connection.

This all comes with great responsibility.

My parents didn't teach me how to navigate the Internet or what links not to click. In fact, they still have dial-up at home. My dad calls it "revving up the Internet."

But they taught me how to be discerning. They taught me the importance of knowing what's going on around us by keeping subscriptions to two newspapers. They taught me about how to care about my neighbor.

Technology will continue to change.

The basic choices we make as we use it won't.