MY SON, THE TECH GEEK.

(above artwork by Mattia Cerato)

If you haven't noticed, it's been quite some time since I've really written a post on here. Design is Mine is, for the most-part, a place for me to share all the images/art that inspires me continuously. Not many words are needed for that, and I usually like it that way. But today I am going to share something about my life at home that I have been meaning to share with the online world for awhile.

I am the mother of a total tech geek. And no, he's not some teenage boy with glasses who spends too much time indoors playing on the Internet. He's barely five and he loves technology more than almost anyone I have ever known.

London, my youngest son, has always been different. I don't mean that in any kind of negative way; in fact, it's what I love most about him. I absolutely adore his older brother of seven who is witty, sarcastic, helpful, and totally my little helper (which is tremendously appreciated as a single mom.) But in most ways, he's your typical boy. He loves playing Wii games, play fighting in his underwear, collecting action figures, rewatching Star Wars over and over again, and splashing around in water whenever he can.

London, however, has never been that kid. He taught himself how to read at age 3 from studying books, flashcards, and all those obnoxious singing baby toys. He collected anything that had to do with numbers and the alphabet, from pillows with words on them to Scrabble tiles to about 5,000 of those colorful plastic magnetic letters. Notebooks were filled with scribbled words that he put together and things that looked like strange codes (random numbers and letters that went on for pages and pages.)

Then he discovered Apple. No, not the fruit, but the multinational corporation. It all began when I got my first iPhone. He was awestruck. Riley, his brother, saw the appeal as well, but his liking didn't come near to that of London's. London, through asking about a million questions, discovered that this fruit-named company had been around for years and he didn't even know about it. I taught him about iPods and Macbooks, and showed him pictures online of upcoming products. And let me tell you, this ignited something in him. He was absolutely obsessed.

So fast-forward to today and parts of our home look like tributes to Apple and various technology. Nintendo, Google, YouTube, and occasionally Windows have been turned into objects crafted with his little hands and huge imagination. I can count at least 50 iPhone and iPods made out of paper, icons and applications built out of LEGOS, and cardboard laptops and broken keyboards filling his toy bins and bookshelf. It's strange, sweet, and what exactly makes him the little techie that he is.

And now that all that has been explained, I would now like to unveil a new project: Little Techie. A place for me to share the creations and moments that go along with living with a 5-year-old Apple-loving, technology-talking, icon-drawing boy. Enjoy!