Print edition: 
There are times for a mother that seem like out-of-body experiences. You're detached, floating, hovering somewhere just below the ceiling, looking down on what's happening and wondering how in the world this became your life.
If you happen to have a tween with a penchant for technology, I'll just tell you that one of those times will be the evening your daughter makes a pitch for the new Nintendo DSi handheld game system by delivering a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation in your living room.
I thought Hannah was kidding when she fetched the laptop. She had been explaining how she planned to save for this new game system, which would replace a previous-generation one she got for Christmas. With a few more allowances and baby-sitting gigs, plus proceeds from selling the old toy, she'd have enough money to buy it, she said. Including tax.
"You're not getting a new game system," my husband said. "The one you have is six weeks old."
"Just hear me out," Hannah countered, raising a finger. "I have a visual aid."
I looked at Randy and he looked at me. We were impressed and terrified.
Hannah fetched the computer and began to flip through the slides.
There were bullet points, charts and clip art. She listed friends who own the game system and could verify its awesomeness. She highlighted the system's cutting-edge feature that allows parents to block Internet applications they deem inappropriate.
"Not that I would ever use those applications," she said.
The new system features a digital camera that allows you to take photographs and upload them to a computer, she noted. And because her father is a photographer, taking pictures "is in my blood, scientifically speaking."
She closed her presentation with a nod to responsibility — she's drowning in it, apparently — and a salute to the magic of dreams fulfilled.
The only thing missing was coffee and doughnuts.
I glanced back at Randy and he looked at me. I couldn't move or speak because, as I mentioned earlier, I was floating above the scene.
This is my life, I chanted in my weightless stupor. This is my life ... This is my life... How did this become my life?
Not missing a beat, Hannah lifted her hand from the trackpad and turned to face us.
"Any questions?"
