I watched an interview of Mark Zuckerberg recently. It left me thinking how I agreed with him in a way, yet I still wanted more…

Zuckerberg – creator of Facebook, head of multiple social apps that people around the globe use to connect with each other – was asked about the Meta virtual reality glasses. 

My main takeaway from the discussion was that these virtual reality glasses were being built to improve connections between people, making it feel like they were in the same room even if, in reality, they were halfway around the world from each other.

Zuckerberg hit the nail on the head when he talked about how the video chat options we have right now are good, but people want something more.

I can 100% agree and attest to that!

Being married for nearly 20 years to a military man, I’ve experienced a number of communication options that have come and gone… only leaving a longing for something “more.”

Deployments are the great testing ground for these kinds of things, and we’ve got some experience in that department. :)

I’ve had the incoming calls from satellite phones wake me up in the middle of the night while I was sleeping safe and sound in my bed. 

No images or video- just a voice on the other end of the line. 

I imagined the scenes as my Love described them to me, of what the night sky of Afghanistan looked like through night vision goggles. 

The stars seem to dance in the darkness, shooting this way and that.

I envisioned being there with Mike, hand-in-hand, watching the stars show off…

In my mind’s eye, it really was beautiful.

Mike sat on the other end of that phone call, listening intently as I shared how our first baby was doing, kicking and rolling in my womb. 

He imagined how his son was growing, healthy, and soon to be born, most likely without him being home for the birth. 

This proud father-to-be longed for the feeling of holding his baby safely in his arms when he returned home.

These conversations were treasured. 

We were sincerely grateful to share these moments together, connected by whatever satellite that was above us and sharing the sky with the stars that we looked up toward. 

Somehow, through that very sky, our voices were shared with one another all the way around the world…

Even still, it wasn’t enough.

We wanted more.

—

We’ve also lived through deployments in the era of Skype. 

Remember that? 

The fact that we could somehow see our beloved on the other side of the screen was astounding!

Glitchy?

Yes. Absolutely! 

Faces frozen on the screen and dropped calls were the norm. 

We tried to count our blessings, though, especially when I held our young children up to the camera so they could see Daddy. 

We were grateful. 

We really were… 

Even still, it wasn’t enough.

We wanted more.

—

Skype came and went, and better options came along – like FaceTime. 

We battle tested that option as we endured long, hard deployments to far away places. 

Things improved overtime, and our calls had better quality satellite connections. 

The kids had fun with the video filters that made them and their dad look silly on the screen. 

Who knew that the world needed camouflage–Daddy–turned-unicorn with a robot voice?! 

Those silly options were an upgrade I guess…

Even still, it wasn’t enough. 

We wanted more.

—

It’s an amazing time we live in, really.

Technology is rapidly advancing and changing so much about how we do life.

I commend Zuckerberg and Team for their lofty efforts and big dreams with the next new thing…

They’ll spend countless hours perfecting this virtual reality communication option. 

They’ll zero in on the best technology and systems to see this project through.

I’m sure it’ll be great.

I’m not usually the one to come out dogging on ideas and lofty dreams, but I have to call it as it is:

This new thing might be a highly advanced experience, but…

Even still, it won’t be enough.

We’ll want more.

—

We.

Collectively, as humans, we long for more.

We want to hear the children run through the house with excitement, and we want to feel them jump in our bed first thing in the morning, making sure that Daddy REALLY is home and that it wasn’t all just a dream or some virtual reality experience…

We want to take in the smell of their body wash as it fills the house with their morning shower, reminding us that they are finally with us again…

We want to taste our first family meal together after being reunited from a far too long separation…

We want the moments, sitting under the stars, together… feeling warmth and a sense of ”home” in each other’s hands…

We want more.

We want together.

Even with all the changes the world will ever see, there are some things that will forever remain the same…

We were made for together.

There has never been

-nor will there ever be-

anything that can compare to that…

Home.

Together.

And that is more than enough for us…