Beginnings

I remember growing up in our old farmhouse. Life seemed great. We loved getting summer rain to cool things down. We had a window A/C unit in the living room and box fans everywhere. When it rained, we would open the windows and let the cool air into the house. The sound of rain and the cool off was wonderful.  I didn’t know anything else when I was growing up. Life was wonderful. 

We had a party line on our telephone. That changed later. My dad worked for the telephone company and my mom at the bank. I had an older sister that picked on me constantly, yet took me to the movies and to hang out with her friends. Life was wonderful. 

We had a TV that got 3 stations. Most of my time was spent outside. Cows, bikes, marbles, hot wheels, and my toy tractors were my life. My sister played basketball and dad set up a goal and net in the backyard. Life was wonderful. 

In the evenings we sat outside under the shade trees where it was cooler than in the house. Mom and dad said we would wait to go in when the house cooled down. Food was fresh from the garden, beef from our pasture, and homemade ice cream from mom’s kitchen. Life was wonderful. 

Now we have TV with 400 channels. Cell phones allow us to be in constant contact with everything 24/7. We have automation of millions of products and assistance. Your grandmothers are looking down from heaven in disdain at you frying chicken in an air fryer. Life is still wonderful. 

You can turn off your TV, leave your phone inside, and sit outside on the porch when it rains. There is nothing stopping you. You should do this because our souls need more than modern conveniences. We need to see beauty, hear music, and human touch to be fully functional humans. Life will be wonderful when you do a few of these things. 

Vincent Van Gogh wrote, “It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.”