My five year old wails from the back seat as we hum along from our great San Diego vacation back to our Sin City home.

“MOOOMMMY! Can I have your phone? I wanna play games.”

At the doctor’s office, my son discovers the doctor’s rolling stool is a great way to practice his Superman skills. I need to intercede before our trip becomes more than just a check for swine flu.

“Hey Doodle, wanna watch Elmo?”

It is 4:30 a.m. at the Salt Lake City airport. I am waiting for the Southwest ticket counter to open so I can check in for my flight home. Not enough down time to warrant a laptop session on the cold linoleum. I pull out my iPhone and do an obligatory scan of my email, deleting obsolete news feeds and marketing crap sent in the wee hours of the night. Then I move over to Tweetdeck to see how my east coast Interweb friends are faring this lovely morning. Someone’s sick. Others are regaling in the joys of the last workday before a holiday weekend. Another is remembering that today her new son reaches the age that her previous child passed away.

I reflect on how much of my life revolves around this little pink-shelled device with its touch screen full of happy apps that entertain me and my kids, keep track of my appointments and friends, stores my grocery list, and allows me to flash the kids’ latest pictures and videos to any unsuspecting stranger who unwittingly asks about my brood.

My smartphone is a lifeline. It is the Vaseline that allows me to squeeze just a little more into my life, juggle one more ball, and try to make a few more people (including me) happy.

Kathy Buckworth shares her love for her smartphone in her latest book, The Blackberry Diaries. While we come from different countries and prefer different devices, we both agree that our devices have been a bane and blessing.

We can get more done and (usually) keep the work and family plates spinning without a major crash, but our smartphones can also become an often humorous distraction. She writes in the opening of her book:

As a thoroughly Modern Mother, what I love most about my BlackBerry smartphone is that it allows me to maintain the façade of a dedicted writer, knowledgeable public speaker, and little known but professionally made-up television personality while simultaneously living the perilous life of a harried, time-starved, harassed, and generally cranky mom. Some of my best career wins have been communicated to me over my BlackBerry smartphone, in less than ideal circumstances. To whit: the call I took from my agent, letting me know that I was being offered a book deal…came when I was standing in line at the grocery store buying lice shampoo. I had to pretend not to care about the grossed out look on the cashier’s face (as she simultaneously scanned my purchase and backed up a good 14 inches so as to not be infested) while also wanting to grab her and yell, “I have a book deal! You should care!” I’m sure she thought I was insane – some crazy woman grinning and bouncing on her feet at the prospect of delousing as an afternoon’s entertainment.

The book continues on with many giggles and snickers of familiarity throughout. Her general premise focuses on how her smartphone has become her fifth child – constantly buzzing and demanding her attention, becoming the a point of admittedly false status-filled pride, an opportunity to excuse herself from uncomfortable situations and unpleasant commitments and more. Some of the parallels were quite cute and others seemed a bit labored.

My favorite (or should that be favourite since Kathy’s Canadian?) sections were the stories she told about her own challenges in parenting her four kids.  Her tales of (not-so-kid free) hangover recovery, the perils of children’s clothing design, and determining the right punishment for her son who needed some lessons in responsibility had me chuckling so loud that my kids wondered what I was reading (and my daughter was inherently fascinated because the cover is pink).

To be honest, The BlackBerry Diaries is not the best parent humor book I’ve ever read, but is certainly a fun read worth that you can easily clear on your next flight (because you have to read SOMETHING when they cut off the wifi access, right?). These days we could all use a good laugh and setting your eyes on something other than a screen is probably a good thing.