By Suzy Beal

I’ve worked hard to stay current and relevant with the times, but each year it becomes more challenging.

Yesterday our oldest daughter set up our cell phones with “WhatsApp” so she could text us from Ireland, where she will be traveling. “It’s easy. Mom, you use it the same as the other text app. you use.” “OK, but the app isn’t on the same screen as my other apps, so where is it?” “Mom, you swipe the page that has your other apps and it will show up.” “But I would like to have everything on one page. “OK, I’ll come back and fix that for you before I leave.”

Our youngest daughter was over with our granddaughter the other day and they wanted to show me how to use a feature on my cell phone that lets you send a voice message instead of a text. I watched her show me, knowing I would never use it. She talks so fast the whole time, I’m left in a fog. I tell her to please show me again but to please slow down so I can write the instructions down. She does.

I purchased a cell phone when our granddaughter got her first one six years  ago, so I could text with her when calling wouldn’t work. She has moved on to voice messaging with multiple addresses and phone numbers. I can’t keep track. I’m lucky she lives close by and I can rely on face-to-face visits.

We recently moved, and I visited the big box stationery story to have a new address stamp made. They told me I had to order it online, they no longer did it in the store. I left. Our bank opened a new branch near to our new home. We were excited because it meant not having to drive across town to do our banking. We went to the open house and immediately inside the front door were three large machines to handle all “your banking needs.” A woman stood there showing us how to use the machines. My husband and I glanced at each other and left. The drive to the other side of town to have a real person teller to talk to and do our banking needs was well worth the few more minutes in the car.

We recently met with our financial planner to discuss the proceeds of our house sale. In the past, in our once a year meeting in her office, she would print out our projected financial numbers based on a series of suggestions we gave her. This time, we walked into her new office and sat at a conference table. She opened up her computer. Two large screens on the wall came to life. One had her assistant, who lives in another town and a third consultant in still a different state. Both women smiled and introduced themselves. Our discussion took place with all three. We looked back and forth, listened to each, and tried to make sense of all the terms, numbers on the screen. We are not stupid. We owned a thriving business for many years, have set on boards, done volunteer work, and stayed current. With our heads in a fog, we came out of this meeting not sure about anything, which wasn’t a good feeling. Our financial future is in the hands of these three women.

What about MyChart? It is supposed to make life easier, I guess, but I wonder for whom. Yes, I can make appointments and get messages to my doctor without  having to get in the car, but I used to do that on the telephone. Now, we get all our test results (most of which we can’t read) on MyChart. We still have to make an appointment with our doctor to find out if we really are sick.

This morning my husband was looking up something for me on the computer. The item on the model in the picture showed a dark purple fleece jacket. Just what I wanted, but the description said it was navy, not the color I wanted. We tried every possible “click” to find the right description and finally gave up.

Life goes on as I’m getting used to new routines in my new home. Dinners are coming out of my kitchen and my husband is back to playing his piano. We are not complaining, just trying to keep up, as our world around us goes faster and faster. Don’t get me wrong, technology has its benefits. I love my Word writing program, and email.

Without e-mail, I’d be lost to my friends. I’ve taken many writing classes over the years and have friends in all parts of the globe. We share our lives and our writing world. E-mail allows us to stay in touch and improve our writing skills.

My Word writing program is magic. I started writing before computers were in every household. I spent hours with my old typewriter typing and retyping all my stories. Once I understood how computers worked for writers, my life changed. I looked forward to sitting down and working on a story. No need to erase, rewrite, or start over, it all happened with the flick of the wrist.

Then, along came writing programs like Pro Writing Aid that could catch misspelled words, grammar mistakes, (not that I made any) and overused words. These added tools made writing a new experience. I still have to come up with the ideas and make my own choices, but…

No worries, AI will soon make our decisions and we will all live happily ever after!

© 2023 Suzy Beal

Writer and budding poet Suzy Beal spent twenty-five years helping seniors put their stories to paper and this year just finished her own memoir. Suzy’s work has appeared on truestorieswelltold.com, including a serialized portion of her travel memoir. She writes personal essays and is currently studying poetry.  Her work has appeared on Story Circle Network, 101words, Central Oregon Writer’s Guild, and recently an essay in  Placed: An Encyclopedia of Central Oregon. She lives and writes from Bend, Oregon.