When parents first learn to text, it’s usually more like an email with complete sentences and signed with a “Love, Mom.”

While we have laughed at our moms for not knowing what “LOL” means or who Lady Gaga is, we should remember that staying current on trends isn’t as easy when your peers are more likely to talk about gardening techniques than the latest boy band.

Needless to say, the technology and fads of the 2000s weren’t exactly easy to grasp for our moms. Yet in an effort to bond with us and close the generation gap, they learned to catch on to these trends.

We began using computers before we hit puberty, and even took computer classes in middle school. We grew up in the Apple generation, but when our parents were our age, apples were still merely a fruit. While we were born into an age of three-way calling and cable television, our parent’s first TVs probably maxed out at three channels.

Times have changed.

Just when they learned what Myspace is, we all moved on to Facebook. And now that they’re getting the hang of that, other social media sites have gained popularity — I can hardly keep up myself.

Even though my mom grew up on a modest farm in a small town, she has always made an effort to stay current in our lives; even to the extent of following me to New York City twice in high school.

Despite the ever-changing fads, our moms somehow seem to catch on to whatever we throw their way, and these efforts should not go unrecognized.

Here are some of the trends our moms have had to deal with in recent years.

*Fashion*

When spring scarves first became a trend, my mom couldn’t understand why on earth I would want to wear a scarf outside of the winter months. I sported my pastel-colored scarf, secretly hiding my sweaty neck; all the while, I was the subject of her persistent skepticism. Sure enough, the next year she was the proud owner of a spring scarf. Since then, she’s become so open-minded to fashion trends that she even bought me a faux fur vest this past winter. When it comes to my sense of style, she doesn’t question what she’ll never understand, but she plays along and shopping is still something we enjoy doing together.

*Internet*

When Myspace first made an appearance on the web, the extent of my mom’s involvement was monitoring how much time I spent on the site. As if she didn’t have enough to worry about, my obsession with AIM added cyberbullying to the mix and caused more than a few girl fights.

She started using the Internet mostly for emailing, but my mom now keeps in touch with us on Facebook, writes a blog and even follows me on Pinterest. This is an accomplishment if you keep in mind a computer was the size of a room when our parents were born.

*Texting*

At first the general opinion from our parents’ generation seemed to be: Why text when you can just call someone? But after months of watching me click away on my flip phones, my mom learned to text, and it’s now one of our primary forms of communication. She’s even added “lol,” “jk,” and “idk” to her texting vocabulary. Pretty impressive considering her first phone was a party line shared with neighbors.

*Music*

My first concert was a Destiny’s Child and Christina Aguilera concert, which was a birthday present from my mom. She sat through the pop concert while I slept in her arms; I can hardly imagine “Genie in a Bottle” was her song of choice at the time. Although she never added Eminem or any other rap song to her iPod, she’s always been open to our music tastes. She sometimes even discovers CDs before me, including Adele’s “21.”

*Health*

When we were younger, my mom could feed us any casserole, pasta or pizza and we were the happiest children in town. Now that my two sisters and I are in our 20s, health has become a factor in our cuisine, and my mom has learned to adjust to that. She realized we were interested in staying healthy, so we now bond over searching for healthy recipes and cook “light” for the holidays.

_Jordan is a junior in Media._