generation gap

I had a follow-up appointment with my cardiologist this week to get the results of all my tests. and, as expected, my ticker’s ticking just fine. Better than fine considering I “burnt up the treadmill” during my stress test. (My doctor’s words, not mine.) On the way home, I sent both my parents the same text to let them know that everything looked good. Now, being a self-proclaimed English major (I didn’t actually get the degree; I switched my major from English 3 years into college), I have a very hard time texting like a 13-year old girl would text, the way most people in the world text, the way that actually makes it time saving and more convenient than calling someone. Instead, I like to spell out complete words and use proper punctuation. And only in the most desperate of circumstances will I use “u” for “you.” So, the text I sent to my parents said, “Everything was good with my heart monitor & echo.” Even using the “and” symbol made me feel guilty. A few seconds later, my dad sends me a reply: “Ptl.” Wtf is ptl? I thought for a few seconds, and then the 18 years of attending a southern baptist church and school kicked in — ptl stands for “praise the Lord.” And then I thought, wtf is my 57 -year old father doing making up text acronyms? I debated writing him back in case ptl really meant something else, like he couldn’t talk because he was packing the luggage or punching tiny leopards. But I was distracted from making up my own acronyms when my mom sent me her text reply: “PTL!” It was one of the cutest things I‘d ever seen and I couldn’t help but lol.