Thursday 20 March 2008

The Silver Surfer

Except that she's not - she's got less grey hair than me.

At last – I finally received an email from my mother yesterday morning.

For those of you not in on this saga, we bought my mother a second hand laptop for her Christmas present last year. Being completely new to computers and cyberspace, she was very Anxious so we managed to give her a couple of lessons here and she finished with shining eyes saying, “I’ve sent my first email!”

We found her someone in the village to help her set up with Broadband and in January he gave her a general lesson and advised her to ring Tiscali to get the package which he would then install. (BT and other suppliers aren’t available where she lives, in the depths of the Devon countryside.) She rang on January 19th and at various times after that and still nothing turned up.

Whenever she got through (and it always took a while) someone would assure her that the package was in the post. Which it obviously wasn’t.

A package arrived last week but not before she’d finally got through and been informed that she’d been charged for Broadband since January 19th. You can imagine my reaction to that. WHAT????? You can hear my crystal sharp Top C can’t you?

Finally, nearly three months after she rang, she told me that Chris was coming to set her up with Broadband yesterday morning.

I forgot about it and came back from a meeting to find the following in my Inbox:-

We finally made it. See you on Friday. Lots of love Mum.

So she’s bringing her laptop so she can have some more lessons over Easter. Just as well given the weather forecast.

Hooray and happy easter!

21 comments:

Beth said...

It's so fantastic you got your mum using the internet - could you help me teach my partner too?? He has remained pretty much a luddite - mainly due to the fact that there isn't much need for a jazz musico to use computers!

jessie said...

It's never too late to get sucked into cyberspace. Now let's hope she doesn't discover online poker... :-)

Flowerpot said...

beth - well, as you know my partner is a jazz freak too but he listens to all sorts of Louis Armstrong stuff on the laptop, buys and sells instruments - he's hooked!

Jessie - pleased to meet you. I hadnt thought of that! She plays bridge and Mah Jong - what next?!

Cornish Dreamer said...

That's great she's finally online! And the weather isn't supposed to be good, so lessons would be the perfect thing to keep you all occupied. R

Fiona Mackenzie. Writer said...

Got for your mum - and you. I wish mine was so game. Do be careful she doesn't get groomed though :)

Fiona Mackenzie. Writer said...

That should be 'good' * sigh *

Flowerpot said...

RT - I don';t know who's more excited, her or us!

Fiona - that is a possiblity but knowing my mum not a probability. Though you never know....!

Akelamalu said...

That's great. MIL has a laptop and broadband and she just loves surfing the net (mainly for suppliers of cross-stitch)and sending emails.

hesitant scribe said...

Fantastic! My mum would never dream of sending an email - she gets all stressed out about it. But my dad does well - he buys everything on ebay these days, and has been busy building computers out of second hand bits and bobs. And yet he can't do text messages yet! Go figure.

Another funny thing - my mother-in-law kept sending me texts when she was away to see how I was doing on chemo, and at the end she'd put 'lol'. I thought how inconsiderate. laugh out loud? Not funny at all. Then I realised she meant 'lots of love'!

Flowerpot said...

Ak - I hope mum will enjoy email as she has friends all over the world. as for amazon - watch out!

Flowerpot said...

hesitant scribe - welcome to another writer! I'm so sorry you've had chemo but hope you are recovering. I love the idea of LOL - bless your mum!

Julia Phillips Smith said...

That's fantastic. My mom has total computer/Internet phobia and will never get on it. She got a used computer a while back, took some beginner lessons, but she hated even having the computer in her office. It gave her anxiety just to think about it. So she passed it along.

wakeupandsmellthecoffee said...

I can just see you emailing each other when you're in the same room. My mother has a computer but hasn't quite got to grips with it. Neither has my dad. So well done to your mother.

Unknown said...

It's great she's on line. dad talks to me from the states everyday thanks to googletalk :-)

Elaine Denning said...

I wish my Mum would learn. I could finaly stop having to look up recipes for her on UKTV Food.

She'll be blogging next!

Lane Mathias said...

That's brilliant fp - a whole new world will be opening up to her:-)

MarmiteToasty said...

Great news on your mum...... keep her out of the chat rooms lmfao....

x

Flowerpot said...

julia - oh no! What a shame. But then I suppose I think everyone should enjoy computers and they needn't!

wakeup - well neither has mum yet but I'm hoping!

Liz - yes that must be a great way to stay in touch - and cheaper than phoning!

Flowerpot said...

MissU - I'm not sure about the blogging - I'll give it awhile and she can work on it! Emails first...

Lane - I'm hoping it will be a world she can really enjoy.

marmite - good advice!

Maggie May said...

That's how it all started with me. Son, who lived in Japan at the time, came over for holiday, bought me an iMac & though I'd never switched a computer on, even, had to learn to email in a very short time.
Next visit he brought a camera & set up webcams. Had to learn how to do that! Was LOVELY to see the grand daughters & talk to them!
Now he & family live with me (Temporarily) and he has set me off blogging!
So your mum will do the same. NEVER TOO LATE & I was the least likely candidate for a computer.

rilly super said...

flowerpot dear, I do hope your mother's getting online and the threefold increase in the hardcore porn being downloaded in the devon area at the same time is entirely coincidental!