The Cyber Dowager Duchess

I just realized that blogging as I have come to know it has changed for me for good. When Jerry and I were in New York earlier this month, my mother, The Dowager Duchess, bought a computer. While we were there, her apartment was wired for internet service and we now Skype weekly and exchange email almost daily. At 84, and with only one semester in a computer class a number of years ago, she is managing to read my blog, watch the videos I post, open email attachments, and do so much more than I (or she, I'm sure) ever anticipated. Especially in such a short time. As she says, "All I really wanted the computer for was so we could Skype."

The problem, for me at least, is now that The Duchess is reading my blog, I have to be careful what I say. First of all, no foul language. Fortunately, I never use foul language when I post. But, you all need to be aware that you, too, must now watch your language when you comment on my posts. The Duchess does not like foul language.

Secondly, I need to make sure I have all my facts straight, especially when I write about The Duchess. She will definitely tell me if I've gotten anything wrong. To be clear, when I tell stories about my family, especially The Dowager Duchess, I never lie. I may embellish a bit (no, I really don't but I'm saying that for the benefit of The Duchess who will read this post), but I never lie.

Also, I need to think twice about how much information I share. The Duchess tends to be a bit more private than her eldest son. For example, I probably shouldn't have told you that The Duchess is 84 years old. Oops, I did it again. But, she is. And, at 84, she has purchased her first computer (and printer/scanner/copier so she can do other things) and is using email, Skype, Microsoft Word, Google, and who knows what else. It's admirable and extremely impressive.

The Duchess knows I shared the story about her friend Harriet and the sailors. I showed it to her. She says I embellished. I did not.

The Duchess has read my story about our trip to the cemetery with my Aunt Lilly and Uncle Aaron. I wrote that story years ago. She loved it. Of course, she told me I exaggerated. I did not.

The Duchess even knows I now refer to her as that, The Dowager Duchess. I figured I had to tell her because she was going to see it here anyway. She found it funny. That was a relief.

So, I plan to continue to freely write my blog without second-guessing and worrying about the "truths" I tell. My mother will probably learn quite a lot more about me. Perhaps more than she'd like to know.

And when the day comes that The Dowager Duchess herself decides she would like to have a blog, she can get her revenge by telling all those embarrassing childhood stories she likes to tell about me. Exaggerating, of course, the way she always does.

In the meantime, remember, no foul language.
The Dowager Duchess is watching.