Learning New Things

The old saying “You can’t teach and old dog new tricks” is not necessarily true. I am fast discovering that fact. Approximately one week ago I joined (as my kids would say) the current century…..I am now the owner/user of a cell phone.

My husband and I have never had a cell phone. We relied totally on our land line and our laptop computer for people contacting us. Our children would often nag question us as to when we were going to get a cell phone so they could get hold of us when they wanted and to know where we were.

The response my husband always gave went something like this, “Well….you don’t have to know everything.” He was quite content with his landline. It did not bother him at all to be on the road and have family wonder exactly where we were. Our daughter-in-law likened us to a UPS package. We would check in when we stopped somewhere that had WiFi …….and it kind of was like tracking a package!

I knew I would be going to my kids, four hours away this past week to take care of my grand-kids, as the babysitter was not available and school had not yet started. This was going to be my first solo trip to our kids and I was pretty adamant that I would have a cell phone with me, should I run into any trouble along the way.

I also wanted the comfort of that “google map lady” telling me where to go when I got into the city. I did discover that if you don’t know how to make the “google map lady” work properly she is not much help! (It also does not help to talk back to her as she just keeps on telling you the same thing…..speaking loudly to her doesn’t help either.)

The phone was pretty handy to check in with people and I think I have the texting down pat…..sort of.  It was kind of funny how impressed people were with the fact that I had totally skipped the flip phone phase and headed right for the smartphone.

My husband informed me that I was not a “very serious cell phone person”. He was commenting on the phone case that I had purchased from Amazon. I told him I may as well have some fun with it!

My granddaughter, who is 3, amazed me this week. She was looking at the pictures on my phone and then informed me that she had taken some pictures with it….and indeed she had! I decided then and there, if I had any questions about what my phone can do…I would definitely ask a child.  They just seem to ooze technology and it’s mysteries.

I discovered this past week that one is never too old to learn something new….if you want to. I made my solitary trip to the kids and I am learning how to operate a smart phone. It is kind of fun to do the new things! If I can figure these things out, I am confident that anyone can!

I am so grateful for my kids who are always so willing to answer any question…no matter how stupid it might sound. (They will laugh to my face…at least my sons will, but they will answer the question. It is usually safer to ask my daughter-in-laws as they don’t laugh…at least not to my face.)

In the past I have not wanted to try something new for fear of failure. I still hate to fail because I hate to look stupid. I don’t know why I worry about looking stupid…… I sometimes feel I have perfected that as an art form!

Sometimes you just have to get past that fear and go for it. I have found, that in this case, the learning of something new is kind of fun. When you get past that fear of ailure and looking dumb, life gets to be a grand adventure.

May your weekend be filled with adventure the learning of new things. What is the “something new” that you are learning?

 

 

We’re scared to death to try new things
because we think we have to get it right the first time.
Joel Salatin
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/joelsalati708026.html?src=t_new_things

You can learn new things at any time in your life if you’re willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner,
the whole world opens up to you.
Barbara Sher
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/barbarashe173969.html?src=t_new_things