We were watching television one evening when a commercial came on featuring an actor who looked familiar, but I couldn’t think of his name. Since I have a kid home from college, it was the perfect opportunity to play the Celebrity Guessing Game.

Me: Who is that guy? He was in that movie – you know, the “Secret Life of umm” … oh, you know! And he was in that show “Parks and Recreation.”

Second Born: Adam Scott.

Me: That doesn’t sound right, but maybe.

It’s déjà vu. I vividly recall playing out this same scene with my mom many years ago.

Mom: Who is that? He was in that show, “The Many Loves of” – or was it “Lives” … oh, wait – wasn’t he in the movie “Splendor in the Grass”? You know him – what’s his name?

Me: Warren Beatty.

Mom: Really? I don’t think that’s right. Are you sure? I felt so smart when my mom couldn’t remember a name and counted on me to come up with it, even if she didn’t believe me initially. These days, I wonder if she felt as out of the loop as I do when I have to quiz a kid for an answer, since Spouse isn’t a lot of help. His memory for names is worse than mine, unless it’s a cartoon character. I’ve noticed other instances where midlife history has repeated itself. My mom was in her mid-40s when she started asking me to help her thread a sewing needle. I was around that same age when I broke down and purchased a needle threader for the one button I sew on every five years. Then there’s the height brag. It was so exciting to grow taller than my mom, or at least it felt that way when I was 11 or 12. It wasn’t until I was a bit older that I realized passing a woman who stretched to 4 feet 10 inches in height on a good day was not the grandest accomplishment.

First Born was nearing the end of middle school when she realized with glee that she towered over me, and by tower I mean she was past the 5-foot mark.

I can also relate to the technology timeline that’s impossible to keep up with for any generation, let alone one that never really wanted to give up the rotary dial phone. Every time I talk with my mom in Kansas, she’s convinced the phone company is charging me by the minute, the way it used to be when everyone had regular land lines. About 20 minutes into our conversation, she will say, “I’d better let you go – this call is probably costing you a fortune.” How do I explain to her that I pay twice as much a month to call anywhere in the country at any time while playing Solitaire and taking pictures?

It’s not like I haven’t had my own technological mishaps at my age, like the time I couldn’t figure how to rewind a DVD. Yes, that happened, as Spouse would willingly confirm.

I still have trouble getting our temperamental DVD player to cooperate. It’s like Russian roulette trying to avoid “No disk” after I’ve already spent 10 minutes pushing buttons to get it to open in the first place. This is why I refuse to consider a Blu-ray player. If it’s hyphenated, it must be more complicated.

But don’t write us mid-lifers off as archaic yet. We can still learn new tricks. Spouse and I have even taken a few adult education classes to help us keep up with the rest of the world. Fine, most of them have entailed food, but still. Maybe I’m not as young as I used to be, but I can adjust to the changing times. That is, as long as you let me keep the DVD player – at least until I can figure out how to shut the dang thing off.

— Contact Janine Talbot at janinevtalbot@gmail.com.