My Mother The Surfer

My mother is 70coughcoughsomethingcough years old.

She didn't have a particularly easy childhood having lost both parents by the time she was a mere 16 years old. There really wasn't much opportunity for a woman who had to quit school years before graduating to help with the household. But she managed.

She's one of the hardest workers I know. As a matter of fact she's still working. She can shop circles around any 30 year old. She can clean a house in a frenzied like state. She can garden and decorate and paint and even has her own tool box. She's quite a spark plug!
But never, ever in my wildest dreams did I ever think she would be online.

After asking about computers for a couple of years and expressing an interest in learning, we (my daughter and I) reluctantly passed on my daughters old laptop to her a few months ago. Reluctantly you ask? Damn straight. It was NOT an easy decision. My daughters and I mulled over the decision together. Family meetings were called, hours spent in huddles whispering and agonizing over the decision before finally awarding her the culprit. As my mother gleefully pried the laptop out of my white-knuckled, clenched fists I knew my life was about to change.

I grew up in a very tight knit family, calling each other at least several times a week, but my mother has always enjoyed a good phone call and already observes that practice several times daily. Now that she had a 5 lb foreign object she had no idea how to use in her possession, what was to become of me ?

At first I passed her on to Jessica, my daughter.

"Jess, Nanny is on the phone she wants to know something about the computer.. since it was yours maybe you could help her, I'm not sure I know what to do." I said slyly.

Jess is a real firecracker. Didn't take more than one phone call before she conveniently made herself absent when the phone rang again.

"Lisa, how do I put in someones email number?"

"My computer won't turn on"

"My computer won't turn off"

"How do I look at a picture"

"What do you mean 'desktop?'"

"When I type an email, where do I type it?"

"Where does it go?"

"Where is the AT sign?"

"Do I type underscore in?"

It would be nice if the odd email from her replaced the odd phone call, but right after she sends the email she calls you to see if you got it.

Anyway, months have passed and the phone calls aren't as frustrating. She has succeeded in learning a good number of things. I'm proud of her. She's emailing and embedding and forwarding, searching and surfing, she even uses the term 'email address' now.

Who knows, maybe someday she'll show me how to use Facebook.