A SURPRISE GIFT

FOR YOUR SENIOR PARENT

When considering a gift for a senior parent can be a real guessing game. Often, at this point in their lives, they have accumulated an assortment of things that they most desire. Mature women and men alike, do not enjoy gifts such as clothing or showing off new fashions; most have already collected the kitchen equipment they like; they have their favorite chairs and in most cases, they even have an assortment of linens and items they personally enjoy for bed and bath.  We are usually compelled to turn toward things like perfume or flowers for Mom and a new razor or cologne for Dad. Why not consider something that would take them by surprise - like a computer, for instance.

I know you may be thinking “If I were to ask either of my parents if they would like a computer they would think I was crazy!”  The average senior above sixty is likely to give you a negative response.

·       “What would I do with a computer?” 

·       “I wouldn’t know the first thing about a computer!”

·       “I’m too old to start that stuff now.”

·       “That would be a waste of money. I would never learn to use it.  

·       I wouldn’t touch one of those new fangled machines.

I know so many of those negatives because I have a sibling and several friends who say things like that all the time. I will suggest it and they just laugh. “Not me!  I wouldn’t know where to start and I’m getting too old to learn it all now.” They speak with such emphasis that one would think they hadn’t a chance to enjoy this not so new technology.

I also know, because I was one of those senior adults who thought that modern technology was only for the younger generation. I had a daughter and a grand-daughter who practically lived with their personal computer. They didn’t even like someone looking over their shoulder. They were always telling me what someone said in an email, reporting the news, or giving me a weather report. They would even use a camera and talk with people hundreds of miles away as though they were actually together. That amazed me, but it didn’t encourage me to want to do all the neat things they were doing. I just knew I would never “get it”, so why try?

Now and then my daughter would say, “Mother, we need to get you a computer. You would really enjoy it!” I would always answer with the remarks I mentioned above and many more. I was not about to get involved in something so complicated.

One Christmas morning I was surprised to find a notebook under the Christmas tree with my name on it. I panicked.  “Oh, No,” I thought. “They are going to expect me to use this.”  They were hoping, of course, to see an excited expression on my face instead of the “Now what did you go and do that for?” look. I knew they meant well, but I also knew I didn’t want that thing. The truth is, I was afraid to tackle technology of any kind.

My computer was special. It had all the bells and whistles, plenty of RAM and to make it really unique, it was green. That seemed to impress everyone. It also had a nice carrying case. That was good, because it set in my bedroom collecting dust for one whole year. I was afraid to touch it. I was so sure if I did anything at all with it, it would be destroyed. The family would encourage me now and then, but they were never forceful. They didn’t even see my reaction to it as being ungrateful. They understood.

One day an idea struck me. Here I was, afraid I would break it, but I was willing to allow it to go to waste just setting there in a corner collecting dust, never to be a useful tool. I tried to get my daughter to use it, but she refused. I decided that not to put it to use, even at the risk of breaking it, was just as bad as not making use of it at all. I brushed off the dust, took it out of the case and asked my daughter, Paula, to set it up for me. Slowly and patiently she began to teach and although I was still facing the fear of total destruction, I began to learn. Gradually, as I practiced the things she taught me I was able to conquer the fear of doing something catastrophic. They talked about viruses and hackers getting to computers if you did certain things. I had no idea what those things were. Also, there were rules that were associated with our server. It took some reassurance from Paula and Danny (the family member who actually bought the computer for me), but before I knew it the awesome delight of having the world at my fingertips overshadowed every negative feeling I had.

Now I would be lost without my computer. I still stick with the notebook. I travel some and I just can’t imagine being anywhere without it. I also enjoy my cell phone and my iPod. I find it amusing now that I am the one who introduces some of the newer technology to the younger set, such as the iPod. I was the first in my group to own one. When I got my first iPod (only 1 gb) the family was immediately captured by it. Before the month was up, everyone around me began to either purchase one for themselves or they were considering it. Paula had to go one better and get an 80 gb. My nieces and nephews all decided to get on the bandwagon and import thousands of songs on their new iPods. Now I have the 180 gb with movies and music videos. I am an online marketer and I have audio books, dvd’s, and tutorial cd’s from the world’s most successful marketers. I have inspirational audio books, such as Billy Graham’s “The Journey” and many, many more. I now wonder what I would have done without my iPod!

It is an easy, fun, and educational tool that goes wherever I go. It is always in use. I have an autistic grand-daughter who owns the 80 gb iPod and she has all of her Disney movies on it.

I also got involved with the digital camera my husband got me for Christmas a few years ago. Paula presented me with a computer camera and now I can chat with people from anywhere in the world and what a difference it makes. With emails you are dealing with words and sometimes words aren’t good enough. Too often, the written word can be misunderstood. With the camera, however, body language is involved. A smile with a sentence can really give personality to the conversation.

I’ll be now be flaunting the new Blackberry that Danny has given me; just another toy to tease my curious mind. Now I will have a hand-held computer that will be able to tell me everything I need to know, where I am on the planet, and among many other capabilities, it will make it possible for me to do my writing wherever I am. I will find that useful as I write my blogs, work on my classified ads and the ebooks I am preparing for my work online. I’m even learning to set up my own websites. Can you imagine a senior adult who was so scared of a computer making such a turn about – even to risk trying to earn a living with it? I am living truth that anyone can do it. Age has nothing to do with it. It just takes patience, determination and confidence that I can accomplish anything that is humanly possible with the right mind set and concentrated effort.  

What reasons could you give your parents or senior friends to help convince them of the value of modern technology in their daily lives? After all, what could they possible need or do with a computer? I thought of a few. I’m sure if you are on the Internet and reading this, you are familiar with the need for computers in this age of technology for everyone; even the senior adults.

·       Read the daily news without waiting for the newspaper to arrive.  Keep up with the local news as well as “back home”, nationally and internationally.

·       Keep up with the latest sports events.  Follow their favorite teams in all sports.  Even follow the games live and talk with other fans online about their team as the game is going on. Or enter “fantasy” leagues where they draft their own team and compete against other fans.

·       Go shopping! Find bargains, often with no shipping charges, unique sites to special shops.

·       Play games! Solitaire, Crosswords Puzzles, they’ll be surprised once they go looking how much fun they can have online.

·       Email and instant messaging!  Keep up with friends, share news with the family.  Share pictures back and forth. This can really cut the miles in between.

·       Be creative! Writing, poetry, photo albums, drawing.  With an expensive camera anyone can be a star.

·       If you have questions about a medication you can look it up online.

·       If you are having a procedure done, you can get information about the procedure and recovery time as well as find a physician to perform that procedure online.

·       If you are trying to find something that is rare or difficult to find, you can usually find it online.

·       You can get your credit score online.

·       You can buy/sell your house online.

·       You can get a loan online.

·       You can order your medications from your pharmacy online.

·       You can pay your bills online.

·       You can find an old acquaintance online.

·       You can find and send gifts and cards online.

·       You can find plants/gardening supplies/seeds and hard to find plants/gardening supplies/seeds online.

·       You can buy a car, boat, almost anything online.

·       You can buy light bulbs for an ancient movie projector online so you can see old movies and if you don’t have a projector any longer, you can probably find one that will work.

·       You can purchase a pet online.

·       You can get recipes online – even hard to find ones.

·       You can download books, movies, and songs for free.

·       You can even get your college degree online now.

·       You can go to eBay and purchase a new Kindle at a reasonable price. If your parents enjoy reading they can have a hand-held device capable of downloading a book a minute. Some of the classics, (which older adults enjoy) can be accessed free of charge.

I personally enjoy eBay because I enjoy the challenge of bidding on items I am interested, getting it for a reasonable price, and the feeling of "winning". I even bought a computer for my grandchild on eBay. It only cost me $100.00 over a year ago and it still works well today. The fun is in the bidding.

The possibility of opening the door to a whole new world for you parents is so easy. The difficulty is simply in convincing them of those amazing possibilities. Why not give it a try?  Your surprise gift may bring a bundle of surprises to you.