Old Dog New Tricks

My parents have really impressed me over the past 2 years.

I've always thought they were old - out of touch.

You know, the whole saying, "Can't teach an old dog new tricks."

Well, I guess with older people who are willing - this is not true at all. My dad is really old - to me. He turns 63 this coming May.

And over the past year he's picked up a few things (along with my mom).

1) Texting. I remember the day we all got new phones on our family plan. I convinced my parents to sign up for texting for all of us since I am such an advocate of texting. I mean really, why do you have to call someone when all you need to say to them is one or two sentences? And saying goodbye is so annoying sometimes. Usually I just like to get my point across and be done with it. Thank you texting.

My dad was so excited to learn how to text. There we were sitting in the T-mobile store dorkily (hah at that word) texting each other back and forth so he could get the hang of it. Now I think my dad would rather text me too instead of calling - I have received more texts from him recently than calls. For him to get texting on a 10 key too (vs. an actual keyboard on a crackberry or iphone) is amazing to me - I mean, I just think about the kind of technological advances that he's seen over his lifetime - and for him to keep up and actually enjoy something like this is outstanding.

2) Facebook. Part of me still wishes that the book was still for college kids. But I knew they had to expand and with that came the parents interest in it. My parents (mainly my mom) now upload photos, tag their friends, provide status updates and comment on others. And they have no problem understanding it at all. I think that is what impressed me the most about it - I didn't have to teach them at all about even how to create an account on FB. They just did it. And yes, sure I have to be careful with what I post now - but with as many people that had access to my account I should've been careful to begin with.

3) Online poker for my dad. When my parents visited us here in Charleston during the holidays I got him started on it. I figured it was cheaper and he wouldn't have to drive anywhere to get his gambling itch in. And hopefully if he was good enough he could make some extra money too. And so far, he's loved it. Unfortunately he's not that good of a player but he's interested in learning from me (has watched me play a few tournaments already). So I'm hoping it's a steep learning curve - almost every other day I'm calling or texting him now and trying to teach him something new.

So for those of you who are afraid of your parents being part of it - don't be. With my parents wanting to be part of everything new and technologically advanced, I've never felt closer to them. Since they can connect with me like I connect with the rest of my friends it's really meant a lot to me, and I'm sure it's the same for them.

Also, just because you continue to age doesn't mean you can't continue to grow mentally. I pray that I am as open to the things to come over the next 30 years as my parents are.