As much as I appreciate having a computer and access to the internet, I must confess to often missing the days of old.  Remember anxiously awaiting the mail, looking forward to a newsy letter from a relative or friend a distance away, an added treat at times one would even find an enclosed photograph to hold and even frame?  And, what about the beautiful post cards sent and others received from friends or family visiting far away, exotic places?  There are few things more special, when communicating with those we love, than holding a letter in hand, seeing words and phrases in their own handwriting and oh, lest we forget collecting the stamps off of envelopes sent from far away.  For about the last decade or so though, such old fashioned niceties of communication have more often than not fallen by the wayside.

 

Today we have all sorts of options whether it be sending texts from a cell phone and what seems like countless options in social media.  Certainly there are positives, such as receiving a text message when one is unable to call be it due to locale, hour of the day, etc.  E-mails which can be sent and received immediately rather than waiting for days or weeks for a letter to be processed through the postal service.  Then, there is social media and how truly amazing it is to be able to post how one is feeling, current happenings, announcements, sharing photos, videos and links to things we enjoy, to name but a few.  It’s no wonder our society has become one reliant on immediate gratification given all that we have right at our finger tips.

 

With electronic communication has also come what seems to be a whole new language.  Yes, I’m speaking of the acronyms so many use in lieu of writing out a complete thought.  These can be fun to use but how many of us have a clue what most of those little abbreviations mean?  (Talk about needing elderly assistance!)  Well, if you hang on with me you’ll find links and a list of popular acronyms being used which will help any senior at home, on their own.  Who knows, you might surprise a niece, nephew or even grandchild by your new found knowledge.  Believe it or not it can actually be fun.  For instance, we have a niece who loved to e-mail but we were often dumbfounded by what seemed like the foreign language of electronic communications.  We asked that she be more distinct but to no avail.  So let me share this little story… 

One day after receiving an e-mail that took what seemed like forever to decipher, I took to the internet searching for all the text abbreviations I could find and wow, were there a lot!  Next step was to study my compiled list to better understand how to write an e-mail response composed almost entirely of those popular acronyms so widely used by today’s youth.  My spouse and I ended up having a grand time creating a response which consisted of about 80% acronyms.  Granted, it took longer to compose our e-mail than reading hers but, once the final product was complete, off it was sent through whatever mystifying way e-mails are sent. 

A few days passed with no response then suddenly we received a note from our dear niece.  I must confess we delighted in her brief, clearly written, response:  Dear Auntie and Uncle, I am so sorry for the delay in getting back to you but it’s taken days for me to decipher your e-mail!!!  From there she sincerely apologized for making her messages so difficult for us to read and promised to write in actual, real English in the future.  Whew, what a relief as neither of us were sure we would be so fortunate again as to be able to compose even one more e-mail filled with those ridiculous acronyms!  In closing this story, I will simply say all we could do was LOL!  

Kindly note, the following list is comprised of numerous acronyms used by many day-to-day; while others, are simply fun little abbreviations focused mostly on elders:

 

2MORO: Tomorrow

2NITE:  Tonight

ATD: At The Doctor’s

B4N:  Bye For Now

BCNU: Be Seeing You

BFF: Best Friend Forever –or– Best Friend Farted   

BRB:  Be Right Back

BTW: By The Way –or– Bring The Wheelchair

CBM: Covered By Medicare

CUATSC: See You At The Senior Center

DBEYR:  Don’t Believe Everything You Read

DWI: Driving While Incontinent

FUD:  Fear, Uncertainty and Disinformation

FWB: Friend With Beta Blockers

FWIW: For What It’s Worth –or– Forgot Where I Was

FYI: Found Your Insulin

GGPBL: Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low!

GHA: Got Heartburn Again

GR8:  Great

HGBM: Had Good Bowel Movement

ILY:  I Love You

IMHO: In My Humble Opinion –or– Is My Hearing-Aid On?

IRF:  In Real Life

ISO:  In Search Of

J/K:  Just Kidding

L8R:  Later

LMDO: Laughing My Dentures Out

LMTO:  Laugh My Tush Off

LOL: Laugh Out Loud –or– Living On Lipitor

LWO: Lawrence Welk’s On

LYLAB:  Love You Like A Brother

LYLAS:  Love You Like A Sister

MHOTY:  My Hat’s Off To You

NIMBY:  Not In My Back Yard

NP:  No Problem

NWOM:  Not WithOut Me

NWOY:   Not WithOut You

OIC:  Oh I See

OMG:  Oh My G-d

OMMR: On My Massage Recliner

OMSG: Oh My! Sorry, Gas.

OT:  Off Topic

POV:  Point Of View

RBTL:  Read Between The Lines

RT:  Real Time –or– ReTweet

ROFLOL:  Rolling On The Floor Laughing Out Loud

ROFL…CGU: Rolling On The Floor Laughing…And Can’t Get Up

ROFLMTO:  Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Tush Off

RTM:  Read The Manual

SGGP: Sorry, Gotta Go Poop

SITD:  Still In The Dark

SWAK:  Sealed (or Sent) With A Kiss

TLC:  Tender Loving Care

TMI:  Too Much Information

TTYL: Talk To You Later –or– Talk To You Louder

TYVM:  Thank You Very Much

VBG:  Very Big Grin

WAITT: Who Am I Talking To?

WEG:  Wicked Evil Grin

WYWH:  Wish You Were Here

WTFA: Wet The Furniture Again

WTP: Where are The Prunes?

WWNO: Walker Wheels Need Oil

XOXO:  Kisses and Hugs  

 

For those who would like to share their own experiences, advice which might be of help to others, questions or ideas for this Blog please feel welcome and encouraged to do so by commenting below.  

 

For those who would like to share their own experiences, advice which might be of help to others, questions or ideas for this Blog please feel welcome and encouraged to do so by commenting below.