As Our Parents Age

iPad for Dad, #18: Discovered Stories from My Family’s Past

Mom and Dad about a year after this story on the steps of Dad's church in Union City, New Jersey,

Those of you who have read even a few of the posts here at As Our Parents Age know of my ongoing series, iPad for Dad (read the first in the series). A little over a year ago, I splurged and bought my Dad an iPad for his 87th birthday. My goal was to encourage him to write and more specifically, share his writing with me and other family members. A committed journal writer, Dad’s diaries fill many shelves, spiral notebook after spiral notebook, pages covered with handwritten entries dating back to 1947.

The iPad has encouraged hours and hours of journal writing, pieces that can easily be sent around to family members — all he has to do it hit the  picture of the envelope and his thoughts are on their way to me or to a friend, to his granddaughter, Rachel, or his niece, Sandy. To be exact, 214 journal entries have been e-mailed to me over the past year, and at least every other one includes something new (to me) about his life or our family. Who knew?

What I do know, however, is that iPad is a gift that keeps on giving back to me, as Dad writes and remembers and writes some more. And his ideas, insights and stories about our family keep on coming. Read more »

May 4, 2011 Posted by Marti Weston | aging parents, family memories, Intergenerational Interaction, iPad for Dad, senior wisdom | aging parents, elders writing, family memories, iPad, iPad for Dad, Reinhold Niebuhr, seniors and technology | 9 Comments