Not giving up certain things
I gave up wearing a watch this year.
It seemed silly to strap a watch on every morning only to take it off once I arrived at work. The watch interfered with my using a laptop computer but, mostly, I rarely glanced at it anymore. Now if I want the time I just reach for my smartphone.
I also gave away our tea kettle. Why leave it on the stove when I never used it? If I want a cup of tea I just put a mug of water in the microwave now.
Speaking of a cup of tea, who uses a cup and saucer anymore? Mine have been pushed to the back of the cupboard. The nice china set that belonged to my parents still gets used once or twice a year, but it seems absurd to set out dainty tea cups and saucers when certain family members find it difficult to wrap their fingers around the tiny handles.
I own an iron and ironing board but they don’t get much use. Nor does the sewing machine. My IBM Selectric II, a typewriter I once adored, went bye-bye during an electronic recycling event. A 5-inch black-and-white TV that still worked, except that it was analog, actually sold for a couple of dollars on eBay.
We still have a turntable that plays vinyl records but I spent much of the winter downloading those record albums into our computer to eventually be transferred to an iPod.
I’ve whittled down my cookbook collection to just a few books and doubt I’ll purchase any more when I can just Google “chicken breast recipes” or “how to make Greek yogurt.”
These are items that are disappearing in my life and I’m sure you can name others as technology changes our daily routines, giving us email instead of snail mail and e-editions instead of the printed page.
If you’re reading this in a real honest-to-God printed newspaper you know there are predictions that this, too, will eventually disappear as more and more people light up an electronic device to read the news.
But, despite the real advantages to some modern-day improvements, there are some items I don’t intend to give up. At least not yet.
Books, for one. Every Christmas my daughter wants to give me a Kindle and every year I tell her not to waste her money. I’m not interested. I like books. I like the feel of them. I like turning their pages and their closing thud when I’ve reached the end.
Nor do I want to give up maps or a road atlas. Yes, I’ve Mapquested directions, but I need a printed map to get an overall sense of where I am when out on the open road.
And I plan to keep my knitting needles, my yarn stash and the many patterns I’ve acquired over the years, including 50 different ways to knit socks. Yes, I know you can buy $2 socks at Walmart but knitting a sock is a rewarding – and surprisingly creative – experience.
We need to embrace change but I believe it should also give us a level of comfort and satisfaction, otherwise it’s of little value. In the meantime I’ll continue to curl up with a mug of tea, read my book, and knit my socks, thank you.