“What
have you been up to lately?” a friend asked me the other day.
“Oh…I
took my neighbor shopping all morning.
You know, the one from Florida who just moved in next door. She’s 82 and drives but she didn’t know
the way to the East Asheville Mall,” I added.
“Doesn’t
she have a GPS?” my friend asked.
That
took me by surprise. Did I need to
explain why an 82-year old neighbor might be delighted to go with me on a trip to the mall? Would an 82-year old
woman even own a GPS? My friend was serious when she posed the GPS
question. Why did I feel myself
getting upset with her and why couldn’t she have said “how nice that you could help
her out?” Or “did you have a fun morning?”
The
truth is I like feeling useful. Having moved often I have never forgotten
how grateful I was to have someone show me around when I was new
somewhere. Barbara, my neighbor, is energetic and pleasant and it was easy to spend a morning with her. It reminded me how long it’s been since I went on “ all girl’”
shopping trips with my mother when she was in her early 80’s. It was one of our
favorite things to do together. We would help each other shop for new clothes and we both loved
that. Now in her mid-nineties - that
seems like a lifetime ago.
I
took my car to the Mall and as soon as we were out the driveway, Barbara had pencil and
paper in hand taking careful notes of where I turned and which roads we were on.
I showed her my shortcut to avoid
the faster highway traffic. She was delighted and kept saying “I’ll have to
show this route to my daughter." I doubt a GPS would be able to discern
the best route for an elderly person avoiding the busy roads as I was doing. As I called off street names and
directions, I realized that this is how I like to navigate - by
having some written directions.
I am not in my 80’s just yet, and we do have a GPS, thanks to a Christmas present from our niece at least four Christmases ago. (We have come to rely on the younger generation to push us into the newer technology because it isn’t something that we feel we need until we get used to it. Then we wonder how we lived without it.) Of course, I’ve learned to use the GPS and take it on long trips. But, when I was new and finding my way around Asheville, I never quite trusted the GPS and would consult the AAA city map first and then Google directions instead. I’d set out with instructions in hand and the GPS for backup only if we should get lost. If someone was willing to go with me and show me the way, that was even better.
I am not in my 80’s just yet, and we do have a GPS, thanks to a Christmas present from our niece at least four Christmases ago. (We have come to rely on the younger generation to push us into the newer technology because it isn’t something that we feel we need until we get used to it. Then we wonder how we lived without it.) Of course, I’ve learned to use the GPS and take it on long trips. But, when I was new and finding my way around Asheville, I never quite trusted the GPS and would consult the AAA city map first and then Google directions instead. I’d set out with instructions in hand and the GPS for backup only if we should get lost. If someone was willing to go with me and show me the way, that was even better.
Thinking about this simple conversation with my friend, I should have let it all go. But her question about the GPS continued to annoy me. I was struck by how good it
feels to help someone else as I did my neighbor. It is the human interactions that our fast
paced high tech culture often negates.
I love my laptop, the cell phone and even the GPS in certain situations
but it is knowing when to set them aside and simply be in the moment and especially be there
for someone else that really counts.
