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| What would we do without hot running water? |
As I've moved through life, I've learned to pay more attention to being grateful for mundane things. I'm talking about things we take for granted that make our lives easier or more comfortable than it would otherwise be; or less frustrating or less annoying in some way.
For example, every time I take a hot shower, I thank God for hot running water and indoor plumbing. Millions of people don't even have clean drinking water. Or they must walk miles to fetch and carry water to their homes. And toilets! Don't get me started.
How about zippers? Have you ever counted the buttons on a dress from the eighteen-hundreds? My arthritic fingers ache at the thought.
The Mute button on the tv remote is pure genius for getting a child's attention! Am I right??? And how about the one on your laptop? Your cell phone?
Office items alone could fill a whole blog post: paperclips, ballpoint pens, sticky notes, file cabinets, laptops, office chairs, foot rests, staplers, printers - the list goes on and on.
I hate to waste food. Thank heavens for bag clips that keep chips and cereal fresh! And canned food, microwaves, refrigerators, can openers, freezer paper, coffee mugs, baby spoons...
Garden tools sure make outside chores easier. Think about hoses, shovels, hoes, trowels, rakes, brooms, wheelbarrows, clippers, pruning shears and so on.
Combs, snaps, nails, clothespins, tape measures, sponges...this could be The Never-ending Blog Post, but i think I've made my point.
What everyday items are you most thankful for?
4 comments:
Besides running water (love hot but if I have cold, I can heat it up) and flush toilets, refrigerator/freezer. 100 years ago, homes did not have the ability to store foods, especially in the warmer months. I have memories of blocks of ice being delivered to the back door.
As today is laundry day, the wringer washing machine we had was a gift at the time but the top loading washing machine is soooo much better. And if my allergies were less and air quality was more, I'd hang clothes out to dry when I could just because I love the smell of sunshine dried laundry...well, except for towels.
Great post, Sarah. Hot running water is at the top of my list, too. I am also thankful for tea, laptop computers, and sticky notes. I don't know how I'd write without them! :-)
I'm thankful for electricity. It runs everything in my home from the furnace to my computer, and oh my goodness LIGHTS!. It's less than 100 years ago (1925) that electricity became common in HALF of all homes in the U.S. And for people living on farms or in rural areas, it wasn't until 1950 that 80% of them had electricity.
I'm also thankful for hot running water and drinkable water, AND indoor flush toilets. I remember as a child, in the mid 1960s, visiting my father's best friend in Idaho. He lived on a big ranch that had been in his family for over 100 years. They ran cattle on thousands of acres and everyone worked very hard every day. Though they had running water to the kitchen, they'd never updated the homestead to have indoor flush toilets. It wasn't horrible. I pretended we were camping, but it was so strange to me.
Like Judith, I remember wringer washing machines. My grandmother had one and didn't give it up for a regular washer and dryer until the late 1960s. She said it worked just fine and she loved hanging clothes on the line anyway.
We do lead a pampered life in this country. I remember working in Sri Lanka in the early 2000s and more than half the population lived in rural areas with cement block homes, dirt floors, thatched roofs, and windows that were simply open spaces in the block--no glass.
This post dragged up so many old memories. I loved pushing the laundry through the old hand mangle for my grandmother, but I did NOT like having to put used handkerchiefs in the wash. Thank goodness for paper tissues! (I think you'd say Kleenex in the US?)
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