“Despite all that has been lost to the savageness of time, there are plenty of reasons to be grateful for the day at hand.”

Sometimes, I get homesick for the good old days. You remember those. Back when we rode around the countryside on the back of an open-bed pick-up truck sitting on webbed lawn chairs. The days when you could only be reached by phone if you were home when it rang. The days when Amway, Acme, and Avon could be purchased from the back of a station wagon.  And, oh, those encyclopedia salesmen! Such strength of character! It was the days of airplane meals, glass milk bottles, the original Coca-Cola flavor, penny candy, leaving the back door unlocked, and community picnics. Sometimes, I would like to fall face-first into a Norman Rockwell scene or at least step back into a “Happy Days” episode.

However, after spending time last week being thankful for the really important blessings: faith, family, friends, and food, I realized I had missed a lot of reasons to be thankful. Despite all that has been lost to the savageness of time, some things are better than they used to be. Here are a few reasons to be grateful for the day at hand. 

1. Taking photos of everything I want to remember but don’t have time to write down: grocery lists, business numbers on advertising signs, recipes, and my parking location.

2. Digital driving directions instead of road maps and atlases – much less arguing between pilot and copilot this way.

3. The ability to talk to people anywhere in the world instantly. (When my sister lived in Guatemala almost 40 years ago, I would send her a letter asking questions and advice. Her response came six weeks later. By then, I had forgotten my questions.)

4. Fitness trackers

5. Low-carb chocolate

6. The Sum function on a spreadsheet

7. Instant language translation apps for that student who doesn’t speak a lick of English.

8. Cruise control and back-up cameras

9. The ability to watch all the old shows and movies I wasn’t allowed to watch as a child.

10. Online shopping with two-day delivery of items too large to fit in my trunk.

11. The Food Ninja and a husband who knows how to use it!

12. Decorative boxes (My house is full of them and I’m running out of excuses to buy more.)

13. White extension cords (I don’t know why – those old brown cords never matched my sense of decor. The old fabric-covered cords were no fun either.)

14. Instant online information about any topic imaginable. (It is amazing how much time I waste searching for the name of an actor from a random episode of MASH and trying to determine if he is related to the actor from a random episode of Night Court.)

15. Earbuds

16. Tiny little calendar apps on my phone to help me remember what I planned to do today…or what I should have done yesterday even though I forgot to check the app.

17. Playlists of my favorite songs. (Perhaps walking the treadmill to Trans-Siberian Orchestra may not be at my age.)

18. Side-by-side Bible and text translations.

19. The ability to learn from and interact with highly qualified people who live far, far away. 

20. Those little dotted guidelines on the back of Christmas wrapping paper.

Your turn. I’m pretty sure I’ve missed a few. Tell me what little or big things knock your socks off with delight, but it must be something that couldn’t be found in your childhood days. Oh, yeah! Those pink footies with skin-softening gel inside…