Mom Wants to be a Geek

My mother came up today which she does every five years or so.  (In fairness, I don’t get down to see her often enough either).  After she and Leigh’s mom visited awhile, I joined them.  Mom pulled out her Canon PowerShot digital camera and commenced taking pictures of the dogs, the cat, Leigh’s mom, me, just about anything she could aim at.
She looked out on the kitchen counter where Leigh and I have our laptops stationed.  “How do you like your laptop?”  She asked.
“I love it.”
“Can it do everything a regular computer can do?”
“Absolutely.”
“Well, I want one.”
I thought about this.  “I think you should get one.”
“Well, I’d like to.  My friends around the country keep talking about their laptops and I think I should have one.”
“Wow, you’re trucking along in your late 70’s and you still have peer pressure?”
She laughed.  “Well, it’ not really peer pressure, but I want one.”
All the stereotypes melted.  Here’s a whole community of senior citizens carting their laptops from the kitchen to the living room to their high tech offices.
“I want everything,” she continued. “I want a new cell phone, one that can shoot video.  I want an iPod and a Blackberry.”
“What’s a Blackberry?”  Leighs mom asked.
“I don’t know but they look like fun.”  I was proud she knew you don’t buy them in the produce section of the grocery store.
So I say, good for you, Mom!  And I further say, “Seniors, unite!  Get out there with your iPods and ear buds and show the world you’re hip!  Open up your laptop and start a blog about the joys of keeping up with the world that’s moving so fast.”
Now, if she starts wanting her own avatar, I’m really going to sit up and take notice.