Computer Lessons

She called me on my cell phone and waited as I adjusted my ear piece. She needed help retrieving her word file. It was a letter to my sister and she used it as a base to practice 'bold', 'underline', and 'italics'. I didn't even know she knew the word 'italics'. She was born in Egypt and English was not her first language, or even her second. She talked to me about solitare and her frustration with moving a set of cards from one column to another when the drag and drop function was defective. It was like listening to a new born baby speak with a full vocabulary. It was all at once disorienting and delightfully entertaining at the same time.

She decided it was time to learn how to use a computer and started taking computer classes twice a week. She wanted to know what it was that created such an addiction for her 18 year old granddaughter. What kept her up so late and who was she talking to anyways? It agitated her that even her youngest grandchildren who were 7 and 10 years of age knew how the use computer and she didn't. She thought that if they could do it then so could she. She is in a class with 11 other people she calls 'senior citizens'. The teacher gives her homework - and remarkably she does it with rigor! She has an email address and has learned how to send and receive messages. Now she can send us her recipes!

My mother. Married to my dad for 54 years. Still the designated driver for all her friends, the master chef, the queen hostess, the power shopper, and the ultimate social activity coordinator. She takes care of the universe and expresses her love through her food.

My mother. 74 years old. An example that it's never too late to learn. Proof that action gets noticed. And evidence of the unending inspiration that parents can deliver to their kids. Way to go Ma!