A Digital Moment

I was in town this morning, stopping at the auto parts and the hardware store and at the gas station. I used my credit card at all three places for merchandise. Joyce was home on the computer at the same time, logging on to make a payment on the card. As quickly as I swiped my card the charges popped up on her screen in real time. I drove home and she met me at the door, telling me where I had been and what I had spent. I was taken aback at first and then it dawned on me that we are in the digital age and there is split-second reckoning on a charge card purchase. I know there have been authorizations on card purchases for years, but it never dawned on me how really fast those things showed up on a statement. I suppose I thought they were in limbo until some specific posting and statement date.