By Cheryl Maguire

My mom deemed the Internet useless back in the early 2000s when it became mainstream. Like other new technology she resisted it. I knew she would love a digital camera, but she refused to buy one insisting her camera worked fine. Since she wouldn’t buy a camera, I gave her one as a gift and as predicted she was snapping pictures of everything.

An Internet connection was not as simple as purchasing a camera. There is a monthly fee, and it requires a computer connection. She lived most of her life without the Internet so she thought it was unnecessary. By the time 95 percent of the population was surfing the net, she finally caved.

Once she learned how to use emails, she sent me a minimum of 10 per day; nine I deleted without reading. I informed her of this fact. I even typed “unsubscribe” in response to one of her emails, to no avail.

Most of the emails she sent were forwards of articles for a town she didn’t even live in anymore. One email subject said, “FW: Miley Cyrus Spotted Food Shopping.” As you can imagine I didn’t read it.

She also sent elaborate recipes even though I don’t cook. A lot of the emails were things you would say in passing conversation:

Subject: Laptop

Message: This laptop is a lost cause. It takes FOREVER to do anything. if you see any good deals, please let me know …

(She waited FOREVER to get an Internet connection and now it’s not quick enough for her?)

She also liked weather-related emails:

Subject: Snow

Message: They are predicting 6 inches of snow this weekend. Starting Friday night here...

(I do have faster ways of gathering weather information, like checking the weather app on my phone.)

But some emails I have to open. Like when I read this subject:

Subject: GRRRRRRROSS!!

Message: A live mouse caught in the trap under the sink. Moved the trap to the back under the pipes but Dad can’t get him out!!

The emails started coming in around 8 a.m. and then are sporadically sent throughout the day. Until one day when I didn’t get any.

My mom had an accident and shattered her shoulder. She was unable to send emails and I felt this strange sense of loss.

I recovered all her deleted emails, and found myself smiling with a new perspective, noticing the nuances of the messages for the first time.

How she still read news from the town she used to live in because she missed it. How her use of all caps hilariously mimicked her emotions. How her innocuous message about a mouse left me wondering what happened to him?

The emails have her personality all over them and were simply her way of keeping in touch with me. The realization led me to type the following email:

Subject: Subscribe

Message: I would like to please re-subscribe to your email list. I really miss it.

Cheryl Maguire holds a Master of Counseling Psychology degree and is a professional member of ASJA. You can find her on X @CherylMaguire05.