Why won’t this thing charge?

Should I get a Mac?

NO! No way. It will be a disaster. It’s a completely different operating system and you struggle with your PC enough as it is. Neither of your kids are living at home to help you and you’ll end up throwing it across the kitchen in a fit of frustration.

Emily is my cousin who recently purchased her first Mac. While she may have had a clear grasp on how to use a charger, she isn’t exactly a member of the Geek Squad.

I do what I want!

My response said something to the effect of, “That’s great! Just don’t call me every time you have a question.” She then called assuring me not to worry, she had enrolled in one-on-one classes at The Apple Store and they would teach her everything she needed to know. I was skeptical.

Going Mac Crazy

I chose not to respond and let her new friends at The Apple Store field this one. Only to get this email the next day.

This was the first sign of hope. Maybe this wouldn’t be as painful as expected. With a little help from these Apple people I might still be speaking to my mother come Christmas.

The Apple Store guy showed me Photo Booth!

This was the first of many, many, many Photo Booth emails. Yet, the phone calls asking where her trash was or how to eject a CD had seemed to stop. Maybe these Apple classes were paying off after all.

The Christmas Card

At this point I had pretty much stopped opening her attachments altogether since they were all just Photo Booth pictures of her and/or the dog. I opened this “Christmas Card” attachment expecting a picture of one or both of them wearing Santa hats. What I found, however, was shocking.

 My mother  had somehow learned Photoshop. She could add a reindeer to a roof, festive holly leaves to a light-post and a tiny yellow sun to a snowy scene. I think she even went as far as to add in some extra flake-age for effect. It was inspiring really. If my mother, a woman who had once tried to charge her computer with a sewing pedal, could Photoshop a Christmas card anything was possible. She has since tackled uploading photos to Facebook and transferring home movies to DVD. While I still get the occasional tech question call or email, I can’t help but be impressed by how far she’s come. It truly is a MacBook miracle.