My Mother is resistant to change. So, it should not have been a surprise that when technology started to blossom, she closed the door on learning. I remember when my parents got a VCR and we wrote the instructions down for them. It was pretty straightforward, but I would field questions from her on a daily basis.
When email, the internet, and computers became the rage, she practically ran screaming for the hills. Meanwhile, my father would send me jokes from his AOL account and embraced this whole ever-changing landscape. When my mom got a cell phone, she would call me, leave a message for me to call her and then promptly turn off her phone. I explained over and over that it is impossible to reach someone with their phone off.
I think about how much my mom has experienced in eighty-six years. She was born in the age of radio. She can remember the first time she experienced television. She now has learned to – sometimes Alexa doesn’t understand the command and basically stops interacting with her – give instructions to her new friend “Alexa” who helps her turn on and off the television along with navigating Netflix. Occasionally, Brian or I get a call, when she gets confused, but she seems to have reluctantly embraced the changing times. Of course, it depends on the day.
Even I struggle to keep up. When I ask Bryce anything, he exhales dramatically. My goal is embrace the change, so when I am eighty-six, I am the cool old lady who can figure out the next great gadget. It will be impressive and it may help my mind stay alert and active. That is the plan right now, but God has the eraser, so I might be that lady that exacerbates both of my children.
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