Mom's First Text Message

There a certain days that everyone looks forward to growing up:

The day they have their first kiss.

The day they graduate high school.

The day their mother sends her first text message.

I was going through old texts in my phone today and found a gem that I had saved. One day back in December I needed to get a message to my mother, but I was at work, where I'm not allowed to make personal phone calls. I decided to try sending a text message to her cell phone.

I thought doubtfully back to the time when I was in high school and we first got internet at my house. I had to re-show Mom the two steps required to get online about a dozen times before she got it down. I thought about last summer, when my sister organized an impromptu emergency "class" for my mother who had voiced some very specific concerns as she struggled to grapple with the mechanics of Facebook (The class description, as my sister outlined in an e-mail, was "Your Facebook 101 class will be held on Saturday, July 4, 2009, at the Hensel Retirement Home on ***** Street in Plymouth. The class will cover all aspects of tackling modern technology, including how to determine if people are asking you to be their friend or if you have somehow sent a message to all 30 million Facebook users and the subsequent embarrassment that may cause, as well as how to choose a better profile picture for yourself. Please come prepared with a pen, paper and a small iced coffee, extra milk and no sugar for your sure-to-get-frustrated instructor.").

It seemed unlikely that my mom would be able to read, never mind respond to, my text. I took a breath, typed the message and hit "send".

Twenty minutes later, I received the following text message*:

"This is my first
ever text  dont
know where the
period is     this is
taking me forever
    love you
mom                   n
 m                         "

Does that, or does that not, almost read like modern poetry?






* Permission to reproduce my mother's text message was gained on the express condition that I inform my readers that my mom is both intelligent and a high school graduate.