Friday 55 & Da Count-Da Mama

FRIDAY 55
(Let G-man know if you wrote one)

She took night classes in computer technology 25 years ago.
She sat grandbabies on her lap letting them tap the keyboard.
She introduced me to chatrooms.
She got a digital camera and built her own website long before I ever blogged.
She joined Facebook and learned how to text to enter her grandchildren's world.


Mom, playing Wii with the kids after she bought and set up the system for them.

DA COUNT
(Let Lecram know what good stuff in your life you've counted.)

I've posted about my mom and what a good mom she is. Recently I was reminded of how tech savvy she is and how that fosters a closer relationship with her grandchildren than she might otherwise have. My dad recently acquired an iPhone, much to the envy of his daughter and grandchildren. He then declared he was thinking about getting an iPod. I was rather incredulous that he had no idea his phone was capable of that. We discussed other capabilities he acquired with his new gadget and I could see the smoke begin to pour from his ears as his own circuitry was overwhelmed by how much he DIDN'T know. Mind you, Dad is a very intelligent man who has embraced technology in the past, but this all seemed light years beyond him. He somewhat meekly asked for one of us to help him figure out how to use things. Meanwhile my mother has built websites from scratch (uh, yeah, she could DEFINITELY teach me a thing or two). I have to admit taking her knowledge for granted sometimes. Then I come across someone else in her generation or perhaps younger who is completely bewildered or even resistant (and I have to admit to having dwelt in that camp for a long time) and I am reminded how special and wonderful it is that she hasn't let technology contribute to a generation gap between her and my kids.