It's Tough Being Technology Challenged

I wish I was a little kid, because if I was, I would probably never struggle with computer issues. My little nieces and nephews are so computer-savvy, it's scary. (This candid photo of three of my adorable nephews that I snapped during the Pearl family reunion in early July perfectly illustrates this comfort level that today's kids have with computers. Wow--don't these boys look positively transfixed?) Having been born into a world where it is practically imperative that you know how to surf the internet, they are totally unintimidated by all the gadgetry that I am still struggling to understand. If you have a technology question, just ask someone under five feet tall and there's a good chance he can fix it for you! When my boys were young, it was mostly male children who were obsessed with things like video games; but today, little girls are every bit as interested and knowledgeable.

It's true that some big people are as good as kids at dealing with modern technology. My husband is one of them. He has an iPad now (a gift from the boys and me at Christmas that touched him so deeply, he got misty-eyed) and an iPhone. I have dubbed him the "iMan." I know Don Imus has dibs on that nickname, but I'm using it anyway.

I need to get caught up with the rest of the world when it comes to all this newfangled technology. It hurts you when you don't understand the magic of computers; it really stinks when you just turn them on and expect them to work all the time--and then for some inexplicable reason, they don't. I got up two hours ago planning to type up a quick post, and to my dismay, I found that I couldn't get on-line. I was helpless in the face of such a catastrophe. Drat! Dang those internets! (That word is not a typo; it's just a wee gift for son #4.) The computer and I definitely have a love/hate relationship. Anyway, I had to wait until my husband woke up so that he could "re-boot" something or other, whatever that means.

Although I'm not as afraid of pushing the wrong button on my laptop as I was a few years ago, I think I'm still lightyears away from being able to fiddle with our wireless internet system. So unless my husband (or perhaps some five- to eight-year-old niece or nephew) is there to help me out, I'm always going to be toast. Perhaps a few years down the road I'll be able to get help from my granddaughters!