Kaya Singer

At one time I looked at 60-year-olds as being old and wise. Now we are no longer old (since our generation changed that definition) but wisdom is now gauged by how technologically literate one is. This week I finally arrived - I bought my first i-pod. My 28-year-old son said, "Good for you, mum." Just like I would have said to him when he could ride his bike without training wheels. I felt like telling him, "Forget the patronising and just show me how to use this *#@+ thing!"

My next challenge is blogging, which unfortunately is becoming very popular and important if one wants to market her business effectively on the net (which I do).  Writing is not the issue. Words have always tumbled out of my brain for what they are worth, but managing a blog is another whole story.

I remember typing my university papers on a portable typewriter and using correcting tape. The finished paper looked like a bird had used it for a loo. No rough drafts. I put all my notes on small index cards, having looked up information in books at the library. Very soon, if we are not careful, books and libraries will both be obsolete. Anyway, back to those typed papers: there were no rough drafts because of the time it took to type each page. It had to be perfect the first time or good enough.

Now kids in high school all know html as their mother tongue and I struggle to figure out how to get my blog up and running. But it is finally live at www.awakeningbusiness.com/blog. I shudder to think what other new technological challenges await me as the years move on.

But I know, and most of us in my age group know, that wisdom is not really measured by these skills. It is measured by the size of our waists. We have those young whipper-snappers beat for sure.

Kaya Singer is a small business counsellor, facilitator, coach, writer, educator and entrepreneur. Her company is  at  www.awakeningbusiness.com