Computer Setbacks

Let's get this straight.....until I was in my thirties, I had never touched a computer. Oh sure, I could type and word process with the best of them. I could set tabs and do all the things needed to write in the late eighties. It was at this time that my new career became "Stay At Home Mom" and my job description changed. It was a good thing too because the "Mouse" that had recently been introduced proved to be quite a challenge.

I sailed through the early nineties doing the Mom thing and relying on a word processor to tap out things that needed to be typed. Business letters and formal correspondence were about the only things I needed it for. My writing was done with pen and paper. The newsletters I did for the kid's schools and clubs I was in were a literal cut and paste effort. Plus, God blessed me with amazing penmanship. So I was going to be just fine.

I am married to an engineer so of course, I had heard the words Lotus, Microsoft and DOS. Apple was still a fruit.

There was a computer in our house from '88 to '95 when it was a thing I dusted and grumbled about all the books and cords associated with having one. I absolutely had no idea why we had floppy disks. Any conversations I was exposed to of this nature may as well have been in Chinese. I really didn't need to know any of this.

I suppose it was about '95 when my children were 8 and 10 and, I knew their games, school work and the direction they were going far exceeded "TROUBLE", spelling words and anything I had ever known. Plus, I was entering a "professional" world again and my tried and true methods of communication were looking much less polished.

Little by little, through the end of the decade I was learning to produce documents. I could create a newsletter using "Print Shop", have a resume on file and, even email my friends. I had no idea as to why I was able to do this because my "Better Half" made it all possible. I was entering the new millennium and I knew everything I thought I would ever need to about a computer.

It worked well for me the next five years. I was working outside the home and any program I needed to use, I could handle. Which took me to the end of 2005.

Then it became essential that I learn so much more. Cutting and Pasting went from something that just popped on my screen to something I needed to do to make my work better. I had, as I thought, conquered the world of fonts and, was a whiz at changing the size or adding some color. I could make my own greeting cards, bank/pay bills and, I even learned to scan. I was truly on top of things. Or so I thought.

Through this time the technical side of my mostly artistic brain was bombarded with a cell phone I was not adept at using, remotes on my TV and entertainment equipment that I couldn't begin to fathom what all the buttons were for. Plus, I needed to read a manual to operate a new Washer/Dryer. Gone were the days when there was simply an ON/OFF switch. I was getting along just fine being 95% computer illiterate until the day it all changed.

I suppose it was early '09 when my son was getting ready to get married that it hit me; I needed to know more about this computer that I was on every single day. I was put in charge on making programs for the wedding. My fonts, colors and organization of my documents needed a major overhaul for this task and through the Spring and Summer I worked on a better delivery. My questions to my husband and children began to sound more intelligent than hopeless.

I was quite proud of the programs I ultimately created with the guidance of my future daughter-in-law. Then came the wedding.....one of the absolute greatest days of my life and the pictures that came with it had to be shared with everyone I knew whether they were at the wedding or not. Sadly, at this point, I was unable to transfer images from my camera to our computer.

After I conquered this obstacle, I could email them to everyone. Then I realized that I could only send a few at a time and, I had learned by this point that no one wants all the bytes/clutter coming in. Then it was suggested that I go on Facebook and send them that way. Facebook, another long story, was something my kids did. I figured that the only people who would see them would be their friends as I certainly didn't know anyone over 30 using this medium. Wrong again!

So, I signed in and the rest is history...my love of Facebook and all the joy it's given me. Again, I was so content with all I knew........Then, late that year, I got a gift that changed my life. My own laptop.

Such a precious gift that I wanted to know everything I could do to keep up and running. There were tremdous hits and misses but, since that day I have this blog and another one, a website and, although I had done some on-line shopping, I'm now a pro at it. I've have even finally taken courses to enhance my skills.

Of course, if left to my own devices, I could not buy and assemble a desk top or even get a printer up and running without a GEEK squad but, I no longer think that I know all that I need to know. I am really looking forward to what the next ten years will bring.