My dad used to spend hours trying to figure out computer programs, hoping to come up with The Next Great Thing that everyone would clamor to invest in. He was in his late 60s when he got his first computer. So many times, I heard him say, “Oh, to be 20 years younger,” as he lamented the loss of a younger, sharper brain and greater memory retention.

My dad had a quick wit and caught on better than many people his age at those newfangled contraptions, but I knew he was thinking, “Imagine what I could have accomplished if I could turn back time.”

We are often told it’s never too late to start something new, but what about when the “new” seems a little too daunting? Now in the upper half of my 50s, I find myself occasionally wishing I could rewind my brain a few years in order to grasp a current trend or product. What would I really do with newfound knowledge 20 or so years earlier? I have a few ideas. Facebook: If this Internet hangout was popular in my 30s, I might have kept tabs on twice as many friends so I knew who got married or was expecting, since that seems to be the way so many couples announce things nowadays.

What I wonder is – how do they have time? When I was 30-something, I had two kids, a husband who was sometimes more like a third child, a job and a house that I claimed to clean. I would have lost more friends than I gained if I tried to take social media on at the same time.

GPS: If I were in my 30s when using a GPS became a thing, I would have probably programmed the navigator to sound like Johnny Depp. I mean, come on – imagine that voice echoing through your car: “Take a left, my dear, savvy?” Thor would’ve been my second choice.

At my age, I’d prefer to take directions from John Tesh. His voice is so soothing, and he would tell me all about the best breathing techniques to stay calm when I miss the exit and wind up in East Podunk.

Pinterest: I cannot for the life of me figure this thing out. Did I just stick someone with a pin? Who can see my stuff? Where IS my stuff? Why do I even have stuff on here? Maybe if I was 35 instead of 50-something-ish, I could grasp the whole pinning thing. All it makes me think of is jabbing my prom date with the pin on his boutonniere.

YouTube: I wonder, if I was around… oh, say 32… would I still get sucked into this mind-numbing vortex of never-ending entertainment? Or would I have the strength to watch one funny cat video and not end up sitting in the dark staring at clips from “The Honeymooners”? “Game of Thrones”: Maybe I’d care if I were 20 years younger. Nah.

Do we ever stop wishing we could hold onto some of that sponge-like absorption of our less-matured brains or the physical dexterity we had in our younger days?

As for my own mental capacity, I retired from helping with homework when Second Born starting using phrases such as “honors bio” and “AP calc.” All right, I’m lying. I dropped out when she uttered the term “pre-algebra” in seventh grade. In my glory days, I was Super Mom – faster than a speeding toddler with a wet paintbrush heading toward the dog, able to leap a pile of a teenager’s laundry in a single bound. That was then, this is…, now, where was I?

Yes, we all were younger, and sometimes we may wish we could catch up. On the up side, the nice thing about being a bit behind the times is that nobody is going to try and explain “Game of Thrones” to me.

— Janine Talbot is adjusting to her empty nest in southern Maine with her spouse of 32 years and two and a half cats. She can be reached at janinevtalbot@gmail.com.