I’m not big into plastic water bottles or even those reusable Earth conscience bottles either. If I am going to drink water at all then please give me a regular glass with ice and tap water. Not only do I think it tastes better that way but it just makes more sense to me.
Mug from new neighbor friend Susie and Happy glass from my "old" neighbor friend Sharon!
I like writing letters on real paper with a blue Bic pen. I like folding the paper, sliding it into an envelope and placing a stamp on the corner. I like the way my handwriting changes depending on my mood. Now, this doesn’t mean that you won't catch me sending an email or a text, but nothing can replace an old-fashioned letter for me.
I like when there were just two kinds of orange juice to choose from; pulp or without. I don’t have an hour to determine if the carton of oj i’m holding has calcium, is non-acidic, no sugar added or organic. And that goes for you too, toothpaste. All these options are confusing and inevitably lead to me bringing home the wrong one.
And while we are at it I like real butter, milk and sugar. All these non-fat, low-fat, artificial sweetened products are reduced from what was genuine. If I’m going to eat a cookie, I want one real cookie as opposed to 5 altered ones. I’ve learned to drink coffee with milk rather than with Splenda and fat-free creamer. I’m not preaching--just sharing what feels right for my heart and head.
I kind of miss the days when there was one family phone on the kitchen wall. I should have seen this love affair/obsession with a phone coming by my very own reaction to getting a pink princess phone on my 13th birthday. I laid on my green shag rug talking endlessly to my best friend about nothing and everything until someone else in my home needed the phone. Wait for it … then I had to hang up!!! Nowadays everyone under our roof has their very own phone, well except for our dog, Cornell, that is.
Seems as if our family is not alone. As I walk through daily life everyone seems to be talking, texting or snapchatting to someone who is not present. Rare is the person you make eye contact with, throw them a friendly smile or share idle chit-chat. Or maybe it is me on my phone looking down and missing it all. It’s really sad that the person standing right in front of you gets ignored while a person far away gets rewarded. Quite the irony of technology that was supposed to keep us better connected. In my mind, it often has had just the opposite effect.
Now, I would be a big fat liar if I did not share a few of the new fangled things I feel are pretty darn spectacular. Like facetime. which allows me to see my family members who live far away. Or the ultrasound that reassured us all was good inside my pregnant belly just a few 21 years ago. I love that I can send a "thinking about you" text or email to someone in another state or country and they miraculously receive it within seconds! I love how my Sunpass let’s me glide through toll booths without stopping. Playing a game of Word Chums with my bestie who lives in another state to pass the time while I wait at an appointment is delightful. So is reading a restaurant review before making a reservation. I can even listen to any song at anytime with the swipe of my finger on my smartphone. Just the other day I learned how to add a video snippet to my blog with youtube … another super cool advancement in technology that I embrace.
So as you can see, it is a real struggle for me to balance the temptation of this generation with my old-fashioned self. I try to BE in the moment, silence my phone to minimize disruptions from those in my presence. Instead of trolling through facebook with free time, I sit and color in one of my many adult coloring books. I bake cakes from scratch with buttercream frosting and hope to just eat a teensy-tiny sliver slice. Maybe what I really need is an app to help me balance my life?
Moral: Being in the present, after all, is a present in itself. Let’s not miss it!
your balancing friend,
A little, but big thing I do: Pardon the tardiness of my blog this week but I hosted my first Philadelphia Friendship Brunch yesterday and I am pooped both physically and emotionally. I have so much to share...blog, recipes and photos to follow next week!