teaching my mom how to text

After years of pleading by her kids and grandkids, my mom finally gets an iPhone.

Now she can participate in our group family texts.

"You'll be amazed at how easy it is," we all tell her. 

Before getting the phone, my mom looks for some assurance. 

"I just want to make sure that  this new phone will let me do all the things I'm able to do with my current phone (an old Samsung)."

I wonder what complicated apps she could possibly be referring to.

"Like what?" I ask.

"LIke call people and answer the phone."

"Yes, mom, you'll be able to do that. And it'll be so much easier you'll wonder what took so long."

My sister Jean sends a group text with the big announcement.

My mom responds with some Facetime icon thing I've never before seen in a text. 

Maybe this won't be so easy.

I call my mom with the intention of introducing her to the simple task of texting.

"Mom, respond to the text you just got. Maybe write something like, happy to finally join in."

After ten minutes of my mother doing something —I'm not sure what — she says, "I'm typing and none of the letters are showing up."

"What do you mean they're not showing up?"

"I'm telling you, I keep hitting on the letter H and nothing shows up."

We try a few things. Nothing works.

In frustration she finally says, "I keep using the pen and hitting the letter H and nothing happens."

"What pen?" I try hard not to shout.

"The one I use on my iPad." 

She's referring to the stylus she uses on her iPad that is not compatible with her iPhone.

We move past this and she successfully types the message.

"Did you get it?" she asks.

"No, did you send it?

"How do I do that?"

"See the blue arrow facing up at the end of the message?

"No, mine doesn't have that."

It takes a bit to convince her she does have that. 

Then I think we need to practice before she moves up to the level of group text.

I suggest starting a new thread, with just the two of us on it, and explain what a thread is. 

"Oh, I get it," she responds.

I send her a new text.

"I didn't get it." 

She's still on the old thread.

I  now need to explain the home button, at the bottom of the actual phone, not the screen. That's a small challenge.

And then where to find the message icon. And that the 1 means she has a new message.

I am exhausted.

In fairness though, as I walk my mom through the many steps, I realize there is a lot to explain if you've never texted before and you've never had an iPhone and you happen to be almost 91.

We continue with our first lesson. 

She seems to be getting the hang of it, but her typing is very very slow, so I tell her about dictation.

I explain the little microphone icon to the left of the space bar.

"Oh. Ok, I get it."

And then she sends me these two texts.

I try again.

"Oh, now I understand."

I wait, but see no text bubble. 

Then my mom says, "Did you get it?"

"No, did you send it?"

"I don't know. I don't even see it."

"Did you hit the mic icon before speaking?"

"Oh I see. You press the microphone first."

I love that my mom has an interest in learning new things.

And I adore laughing with her.

Lesson two is set for next week. 

We both need some time to recover.

Addendum

My mom, being a good student, practices her lessons from yesterday on Sunday.

First, she writes to me plus 7 others ( She still needs work on what a thread is).

We'll next need to teach her about tik tok, and how to get there! And she can teach me how to add a loud sound effect, whatever that is!