Tech Will Be the End of Me

Hello Friends.

I’ve had a little button on my newsletter for about a year now that says "buymeacoffee”. And the other day, I decided to ask the question: why had no one ever hit it?

Not that anyone is obligated to. But out of hundreds of you, I figured one or two would at least click the button.

And then, I saw in my email stats that someone had.

What?!

So I, for the first time in a year, logged into the account behind the button.

And there were gifts.

Lots of them. Turns out, Stripe hadn’t been set up correctly and thus I had not received any notification, even about the sweet notes that had been left.

I sent each person a personal email or text message. It was a lovely and joyful and humbling.

Tech will be the end of me.

This isn’t the only place I’ve struggled. How do I deal with my photo limit surpassing my google account? Where do I store my items? What is digital security?

My child touched my laptop screen assuming it was a touch screen. I feel myself already slipping into obsolescence.

The matriarch in Robbie’s family said last year, “This world is not built for me anymore.” She’s 87; I’m 37. And I already feel the strain of a world that’s changed rapidly in my lifetime; my first cell phone was merely 20 years ago, less than half the age gap between me and Matriarch.

Is it really supposed to go this fast?

The gift in all of this was the people. I finally grasped that the Jess who has read my work for ages is the Jess I went to college with and with whom we shared outdoorsy friends and went to a massive conference every February together called Jubilee. We got on a call and “caught up” on the million years in between (she has a full time job as a Tree Friend [my term] which makes me so happy).

And really, I’m in it for the people. So I guess it’s okay to mess up the tech and find connection on the other side.

So a general thank you: for reading. Listening. Loving. And buying me coffee.