I never thought...

When I was a kid, I would get excited about getting things, like new clothes, toys, shoes, jewelry, and so on. Sometimes whatever I got didn't have to fall into any of these categories. I just liked getting stuff. Who doesn't, right? I still get excited about getting things as an adult. However, the things I get now that give me that thrill are nothing like what I ever got as a kid.

I'll never forget during the first few years of my first marriage. My ex and I had gotten his uncle's washer and dryer, which still worked great, but was quite old. About 3 or 4 years later, the washing machine died and we couldn't afford to get a new one for several weeks. I had to trudge to the laundry mat with my many loads in tow to do the laundry. Had there been a decent laundry mat where all of the washers and dryers worked it would have been fine, but in our small little town, there was only one (at the time) with probably half of the machines not working properly. If I was lucky, I had the whole place to myself and I was able to wash all my laundry at the same time, but that didn't always happened. Being able to do all the laundry in such a short time was the only thing I liked about it. I hated the dirty feel of the place, and the one I was at didn't have many light bulbs that were working properly, so the lighting was too dim to see the stains I missed. Needless to say, I pushed my ex to get a new washer quickly.

The day arrived when my new washing machine came home. It was the cheapest one available, minus all of the bells and whistles. Keep in mind that this was in the early 90's, so the bells and whistles were nothing compared to what they have now. It was just the thought of not having to lug all the laundry to the laundry mat, sit for a couple of hours while the loads all washed and dried, then fold the clothes I didn't want to get wrinkled on the grimy counters, and then lug everything back home. I was so excited! I realized a little while later, after the excitement wore off and reality set back in, that I still had to do the laundry. I reflected on how excited I had gotten over my new washer and couldn't believe that I was excited over a household appliance! Had I finally reached adulthood (I was about 21-22 at the time), that I would be so excited about a washing machine? It's not like it was a new car or anything.

I managed to experience that same excitement these past few weeks. Before Hubby and I got together, I had a dishwasher. Although I couldn't imagine life without it, I had truly lost my appreciation for it. Then I moved in with Hubby and had to wash the dishes by hand. There were days when I was gone from home for most of the day, yet the dishes still piled up. Life can get so busy, yet the dishes don't stop coming. During the summer, I would resort to paper plates and plastic disposable cups. However, wanting to be more environmentally friendly, I cringed at the thought of doing that again this summer. Not only that, it also gets expensive, and with Hubby doing his internship before his last semester of college, I wasn't willing to spend our money on that.

For seven years I washed the dishes by hand. I'd occasionally had help when there weren't other things that needed to get done, or homework to be worked on. Hubby pitches in once in a while too, as well as the boys, but it doesn't always work out. One day, Hubby asked me what I wanted. For all the time we were together, he'd get things like a motorcycle, tractors, and more recently, horses, but I'd never ask for anything. So I thought about it for a while. Some time later, when he asked me again I was ready. I wanted a dishwasher.

Now, my family always had one and can't see them willingly living without one. My in-laws did have one at one time, but they were never really impressed with them, so they have since continued washing their dishes by hand. So, mind you, convincing Hubby to get one took some effort and sympathy. Eventually he came around. Two weeks ago I got my dishwasher. Granted, it doesn't have all of the bells and whistles that many dishwashers have out there. But I'm a simple girl and felt that I was fully capable of putting the dishes back in the cupboard myself.

Since then, Hubby and the boys all equally enjoy the dishwasher as I do. They put their dishes in the dishwasher themselves! What's even better is when we're in a rush, or have managed to go through the day without creating more dishes than a few bowls, cups, and plates, it's nice to have a place to put the dishes until they can be washed. Before, my counter would become cluttered and I would hate it when people would drop by and I didn't get a chance to do the dishes. I'll now have more time to do other things, such as laundry, sweeping the floor, and once school starts back, my nightly planning and/or correcting, and get to bed at a decent hour. I guess the kid in me will never leave when it comes to getting stuff, no matter whether it's clothing or a new household appliance.

When Did I get Here?

Did you ever stop at some point and ask yourself, "When did I get here?" The first time I experienced this was in the early 90's when my washing machine broke down and I had to use the laundry mat. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with using a laundry mat, in fact, it's quicker if you consider that you can do several loads at the same time, that is if it's not too busy. It's the inconvenience of not having it in your home that gets to me. Anyhow, here I am in my early twenties and excited about a household appliance, when not too long before I was excited about more personal, superficial items such as, clothing, jewelry, shoes, etc. I actually commented about how I couldn't believe that I was so excited about getting a washing machine. Go figure.

Slowly we get older, our expectations for happiness changes, and our priorities shift and what used to bring us happiness pales in comparison to what accomplishes that goal now. Taking care of ourselves changes too. Before I was just concerned about eating my three square meals, and snacks of course, but eventually I became more aware of what I was eating and how much I was moving around. Body consciousness came later for me. I only became concerned about my weight when I began gaining it. But we also have other issues to be concerned about, internal plumbing and such, if you know what I mean. At some point, what I ate became more of a concern for me the older I got.

Now today in class, my students were pulling out their snacks for our break time, and I pulled out what appeared to be a toaster pastry. It had chocolate frosting and chocolate cream inside, and boy did that grab their attention. They wanted to trade with me, but I kept turning them down. What they didn't know was that it was one of those fiber pastries. I'm trying to eat healthier snacks, so I choose something that will benefit me later on while I'm satisfying my chocolate fix now (ahem!). While talking with a colleague later on about it, we both began to laugh. That's when it occurred to me, "When did I get here?" I know I'm in my last months of my 30's, but when did I become my mother? (sorry mom)