A Small World

Tonight before bed, Madelyn and her friend Emma (who had just gotten up for the day in Chicago) played and talked on the phone together for nearly an hour. They were playing Webkinz, a game based on a stuffed animal you buy that has a special code attached to it that allows you access to a website chock full of games for kids. You play as your animal, which in Madelyn's case is a white kitty named Muffin. Madelyn and Emma, each on their respective computers, half a world apart, were able to virtually visit back and forth in each other's Webkinz homes, buy things for each other from the Webkinz store, and even play checkers together online as their Webkinz characters. I tried several times to gently end the call, but Madelyn was giggling and chatting away with her friend as they "played together" and I didn't have the heart to insist too firmly. At one point I gave her a couple minute warning, and she said, "But Mom, we're having SOOO much fun!"

Amazing, that Madelyn and Emma could have a playdate today, even though we're in China and Emma is in the US. It's a small world, after all.