My Mother's Typewriter

[Sugar and Sprouts]

My daughter wants to play with my computer. It is a brand spankin’ new MacBookPro and she is two years old. It just ain’t happening.

I can remember back to when my Mom’s typewriter (Yes! I am that old.) was something I wanted to play with and bang around on. It was a Selectric Quiet Touch I think – very cool and BLUE! I loved it because of its color, and because it made these amazing soft clicky sounds when she typed. It was a magical thing. We didn’t watch television much when I was very young so I can remember days when I would sit and play and color and just watch my Mom, in the morning sunlight, sitting at the dining room table typing away. These were always good days, peaceful days filled with the wonder of what she might be doing on those beautiful sheets of creamy white paper. She could type so swiftly and rhythmically that it sounded like music on the keyboard.

It’s amazing that after all these years I can still remember the sound, almost exactly, as if I had just heard it a few minutes ago. It had an impact on me. And I think that watching her type away made me appreciate words – words that I could type, that I could read, that I could write. And I remember the day, oh, I must have been three or four, when I was finally allowed not just to approach, but to touch that beautiful electric machine. I was breathless. I only typed a bit because I was afraid I would break it, and I had grown to love its sound and the joy it brought my mother. But she encouraged me and I typed a bit more. I learned my A-B-Cs on that old typewriter. I learned my numbers. I learned to spell my name. I learned to spell Mom.

And so I relented, sort of. I dug out my old laptop, the one I had finally retired after months of battles. I couldn’t get rid of it, and now I’m glad I didn’t. Yesterday I sat in the sun at the dining room table with my daughter, a little younger than I was with my Mom, and I let her start banging away on the keys. The look on her face as letters started popping up on the screen was priceless. The memories it brought back made me appreciate once again the gift of words my mother had given to me all those years ago. It made me realize my obligation, my gift of being able to share my love of words with my daughter. Today, that love of words is taught with a computer instead of a typewriter, but the love is conveyed with the same joy, the same breathlessness.

My Mom’s typewriter is long gone now, drowned in a flooded basement. Mom uses a really nice computer and she still can type faster than anyone I know. Her fingers have arthritis and cause her to occasionally drop things, but when she is in front of that machine, dreaming of beautiful words to share, the pain goes away and her fingers fly.

________________________ Art imitates life, and life imitates art.

What I see every day influences what I create, so writing this blog and creating my designs are natural extensions of who I am.

If you are interested in viewing my designs, primarily for kids but also some cool stuff for adults and also doggies (who we are integral parts of all families) check them out at:
http://www.cafepress.com/sugarsprouts

See you around the mountains and canyons of northern AZ!

"If you don’t laugh at life, it sneaks up and bites you in the ass!”

[Eileen Davis]

Great story, and a wonderful reminder of learning to type on my Mom's old Royal. This is the relic she had from her stint in secretarial school (!) in the 50's - completely manual, with a ribbon that wound around from one spool to another. It was like playing the drums - you listened for the sound and you enjoyed how it felt to "hit" a key. A woman really needed strong pinkie-fingers in those days.

Thanks again for sharing!

[Sugar and Sprouts]

Hey good to know about webkinz for future reference. The office where I work part-time still has a (blue) electric typewriter. I keep waiting for them to toss so I can ask to have it.

[Mary]

Love your story... and you're not old! Typewriters aren't that old... are they? Type & letters (letterforms) are very dear to me & always have been. My "other" biz email is [e-mail] (graphic designer for more than 23 years)... and the associated website is typeislife.com. Guess it's pretty obvious that I love type... so the typewriter holds a special place in my life/heart too. It's fun to see kids finding new things & watching their faces/expressions as they explore. Computers (especially Macs!!!!) are the best. We bought a computer for our daughter... her very own (she's now 8) and she's finding her way around the software we've given her (& webkinz world too) very efficiently. It's cool!!

[Genny]

Fun story to read. Thanks!

[Christie]

I had a typewriter and a word processor! I thought I was so cool because I had the WP that you could save your work on! I actually had a typing business in college because of that...everybody loved letting me type their work instead of having to go to the computer lab! Kids these days have it so good they don't even know it!! Thanks for sharing!

[Monkeysmomma]

I remember the first "word processors" too.

[Kelly - Macaroni and Glue]

What a lovely post. Reminds my of my mom's sewing machine too. Thanks for sharing it!

[Sugar and Sprouts]

Thanks Lisa!!

[LisaN]

BTW, a sweet story that made me smile. Thank you.........................:)

[LisaN]

Wow, I must be old. I remember being so proud to bring my typewriter to college. Now, my kids purchase a laptop when they graduate high school. Two of them will soon be their second model...........................:)