This will be a different Thanksgiving than most. Due to my recent hip replacement surgery, Lowell and I will be staying home and having our dinner in comfortable chairs near the fireplace. Lowell's daughters may stop in later with leftovers, but in the meantime, we'll cook something tasty, if not traditional. Until recently I had little interest in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn, but being laid up has given me new appreciation for social media. A few years ago, I created a Facebook account to maintain connections with the immediate family, but I didn't open my account to others. The way I saw it, all this "connecting" took a lot of time, and besides, who would care about my humdrum life? When I started my Kindle Scout campaign to publish my fantasy novel, it was obvious I needed to connect with others outside the family, and that was a great excuse to track down long-lost friends and classmates. I'm very glad I did. Now I have a support system in place that has been invaluable. Everyone's prayers and kind words have touched me, before and after my surgery.
This experience brought home the wisdom in my sister Marie's book, Become a Tech-Active Senior: Defeat Your Fear, Get Connected, Expand Your World. Many people my age and older haven't embraced social media because they don't know what they're missing. They don't realize how much it can enrich their lives, and how wonderful it is to have supportive people at the other end of a smartphone, tablet or computer. I'm not one who needs all the latest devices, but I can't imagine life without one or more methods of communicating with others electronically. My book is published now, and I'm recovering from my hip surgery, but I'll continue to maintain and expand my online connections with others. I've made fantastic new friends over the last few months and reconnected with others after losing track of them for decades. I have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.
1 Comment
|
Copyright © 2020