{"id":1322,"date":"2015-03-20T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-20T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/thehighcalling\/?p=1322"},"modified":"2015-03-22T19:57:34","modified_gmt":"2015-03-23T01:57:34","slug":"learning-across-generations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thehighcalling\/2015\/03\/learning-across-generations\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning Across Generations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"8559055828_9242c24bfb_z\"by Deidra Riggs<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hot, so I stand under the awning at the back of the church where the sun can\u2019t scorch the tops of my shoulders and the crown of my head. Two friends have invited me to join them for RibFest and let\u2019s be honest here, what meat-eating woman passes up RibFest?<\/p>\n

My friends and I agreed to meet at the church, where we can park for free, because we\u2019re frugal like that. While I wait for my friends to arrive, I lean my right shoulder against one of the metal poles that helps support the structure of the awning, and reach in my purse for my phone. Scrolling past the text messages and email notifications, I tap my finger on the\u00a0Lumosity<\/a>\u00a0icon.<\/p>\n

These days, I\u2019m more and more interested in \u201ctrain your brain\u201d apps and activities. I have time to play a couple of games before my friends arrive. It actually feels like playing. I match shapes and colors, jump through mathematical hoops, and tap away at the screen in an attempt to better my scores from the day before. The training is one thing, but I\u2019m also learning a new way to use my brain.<\/p>\n

Unlike my children, I\u2019m not a\u00a0digital native<\/a>. The language of online and apps and FB status updates is not my first. While I consider myself fairly fluent, I still bristle when I have to consult my adult children for instructions on how to use the latest technological gadget. They try. Really, they do. But, eventually, my slow navigation of the screen gets the best of them and they say, \u201cHere mom. Let me do it.\u201d They tap and swipe and click and, voila! I have a new app on my phone or more storage on my laptop or a fabulous playlist for my Saturday afternoons.<\/p>\n

Growing up, I watched as my mom played solitaire with actual cards, and my dad put together jigsaw puzzles on the coffee table in our family room. I\u2019d sit with my dad for what seemed like hours. We hardly exchanged a word between us as we searched for nuances in the colors and shapes of puzzle pieces on the table. My dad taught me to work from the edges first, but after that, he didn\u2019t offer up much more in the way of instruction. I watched and learned.<\/p>\n

Eventually, my mom taught me to play solitaire. I remember watching her line up the cards on the marble-topped table in my grandmother\u2019s living room. My mom explained card hierarchy to me, and along the way, I began to understand the strategy of the game. Watching over my shoulder, my mom would only sometimes make a slight sound if she thought there might be a better move I could make. But most of the time, she let me figure it out for myself.<\/p>\n

Leaning against that awning support while I wait for my friends to arrive, I watch proudly as the app informs me I bettered my performance. A little trophy appears next to my score in first place at the top of the screen. I tap the screen to start a new \u201cgame.\u201d I\u2019m just a few seconds into it when a young girl bursts through the door of the church. She\u2019s about eleven or twelve years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi,\u201d she says, and I think she smiles, but I can\u2019t be sure, because I can\u2019t look up from the screen in my hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi,\u201d I say, still focused on the screen, and tapping at shapes and colors.<\/p>\n

She says something else, and I mumble a distracted response. Tap, tap, tap. The phone in my hand responds with tones of affirmation, and then rewards me with my new score.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhew!\u201d I say, looking up to smile at the girl. \u201cI\u2019m sorry. I was distracted. I was training my brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah,\u201d she replies. \u201cMy friend has that app.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe does?\u201d I ask. I\u2019m surprised, because I think this app is only popular among people of a certain age. I look at the screen, and at the score I\u2019ve just achieved. Then, I slip the phone back into my purse, certain this young girl\u2019s friend would probably smoke me if we ever had to play against each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cYep,\u201d the girl says. \u201cIt\u2019s fun, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is,\u201d I answer. \u201cIt is fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just then, my friends arrive. I wave good-bye to the girl beneath the awning. She smiles and waves back, and I think, I could learn a lot from her.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Image by\u00a0Cindee Snider Re<\/a>.\u00a0Used with\u00a0permission<\/a>.\u00a0Sourced via\u00a0Flickr<\/a>. Post by High Calling Managing Editor,\u00a0Deidra Riggs<\/a>\u00a0originally shared at TheHighCalling.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Deidra Riggs It\u2019s hot, so I stand under the awning at the back of the church where the sun can\u2019t scorch the tops of my shoulders and the crown of my head. Two friends have invited me to join them for RibFest and let\u2019s be honest here, what meat-eating woman passes up RibFest? 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