Catching Up

Cell phones have changed the world! And this generation doesn’t even realize it.

Remember the days when you either had to memorize someone’s phone number or have it written in an address book? I do. Sadly, I don’t know ANYONE’S phone number any more (ok, not completely true. I know less than 5 though – seriously!). Even my parents! I know them as Auto 5. I couldn’t tell you their phone number. Hell, I couldn’t even tell you their area code. That’s just sad.

Kids today have no clue about this. To them, everyone has always carried a cell phone (and it has NEVER been the size of a brick), is able to text anytime they want, can surf the internet with their phones, and take pictures with their phone. These kids now have their OWN phone numbers! They don’t know what it’s like to beg your parents just for a phone jack in your room. You know, a working one, with a real phone PLUGGED into the wall. I remember the days when my mom would set the kitchen timer for 15 minutes and once it dinged, I had to get off the phone. Talk about embarrassing. My friends heard the ding on their end and ALWAYS asked “what was that?” to which I would have to say, “It’s mom’s way of telling me my time’s up and I have to go.”

When I was growing up, you were lucky if you even had an answering machine in your house. If you missed a call, you hoped the person would call back. If you were waiting for a boy to call, you were literally Waiting.For.A.Boy.To.Call. Heck, there wasn’t even such a thing as call waiting – yes, I just showed my age. Big. Frickin’. Deal! These kids have no idea what life was like back then (yep…in the stone age). They wouldn’t know what to do if they didn’t have access to their phones 24/7.

How amazing that this has happened within my lifetime? Kids today have no clue what life would be like without a lot of things (microwaves, dishwashers, computers, etc). Those examples are just a few of the things that I remember getting when I was in junior high. And back then, you had to practically wash the dishes BEFORE you put them in the dishwasher (I alwasy thought that was such a waste of time, but they didn't get clean if you didn't). Actually, the computer, my parents didn’t get until AFTER I was in college. No one had home computers back then. Now you see two or more in every household. It’s crazy! When I was in school, keyboarding classes didn’t exist. They were typing classes with real typewriters (okay, they were electrical, but still!). Absolutely amazing. There also wasn’t the proliferation of video games that the kids enjoy now. We were lucky to have Frogger, Galaga, PacMan, Space Invaders, and Centipede. When I was in about the 5th grade, I remember Magnavox coming out with a game system (we actually owned it – after it had been out on the market for a while). It had some pretty cool games that mimicked those I mentioned earlier. But it was NOTHING compared to what kids play today.

The majority of our playing was done outside. We also tended to use our imaginations a lot more than kids do now. I wonder what that will do to the future of America. If people can’t imagine anything better, how can we expect anything to change?

Anyway, so that’s my rant for today. I really need to get back into the habit of blogging every day. I’ve missed it. I just haven’t wanted to put my feelings or thoughts into the world wide web for a while. I will change that. I promise.

By the way, H’s doctor appointment went fantastic yesterday. He and I didn’t notice a change in the area, but because the doctor hadn’t seen it in two weeks, he was able to see one where we didn’t. He said it had improved about 20%. WooHoo! That means it’s just a virus or bacteria thing (it’s a lot like dermatitis or eczema) and not cancerous. He gave H more antibiotics and more cream to use. I feel so much better. I have been more worried than I thought possible. I actually slept well last night for the first time in two weeks. I haven’t wanted to write here how I’ve been feeling because I know H reads my blog on occasion and I didn’t want him to realize how worried and scared I’ve been. I didn’t want him to be worrying and stressing about me when he had enough on his mind. Now that it’s over, I can say that I have shed MANY tears over this. I also have a bad habit of picking the skin around my fingernails when I’m stressed. My poor fingers look horrid right now and I know it’s because I’ve been stressing about H and keeping the fear to myself. Now (maybe) I can let them heal.

Thanks so much to EVERYONE who has sent their thoughts and prayers in our direction. It has been felt and very much appreciated. You all give me more strength than I would have ever imagined possible. Your kind words and encouragement (about everything) simply amazes me. You're the best!!!

I’ve got a lot of crap floating around in my brain right now. Some of it, I am sure, will make its way to my blog. Others may fall by the wayside. I haven’t really decided yet. I’ve been thinking about religion mostly. There’s just a lot that I don’t understand. Not about the religions themselves, but about the way people treat religion. The way people interpret religion, it just mystifies me. It all seems so simple to me, but it seems that everyone makes it so much harder than it needs to be. I will DEFINITELY be writing more about this subject.

Anyway…until later…