This morning I was doing the dishes and thinking about how I needed to clean out the fridge due to a hotdog juice spill when I remembered a scene from the movie G Force. Yes, movies about spy guinea pigs and their self image issues stick with me. Anyway, in the movie there is a huge company that is about to launch a new feature on their appliances that will basically put your whole kitchen online. Specifically I remember the example of your fridge knowing that you're low on milk and eggs, sending an order to the market and having the items delivered without you even being involved. People onscreen cheered and I imagined that someone in the theatre who had brought their kids was probably angrily texting others in their department at Frigidaire wanting to know who spilled the beans on their Top Secret project.
So there I was, trying to get the kids on their way to school, finishing dishes and contemplating a society that has no desire to experience anything that they don't have to. (I'm a great multitasker.) See, lately my life has gotten busy. I keep thinking that the kids have been in school for just a couple of weeks and the truth is that it has been a month and that this level of busy is the new norm. I'm not a fan of busy. My kids are not in sports yet but Hubby and I have already decided that our super athletic daughter will not be allowed more than one sport plus one club at a time. Family dinner will be mandatory unless there is a good reason. Why? Because super busy all the time is not a life, it's a schedule. I don't want to live my life trapped in a demanding schedule that makes life miserable and hope to raise children that don't either.
I want to live a life where I can always find time to go to do the grocery shopping. When I go to the grocery store I do it in a timely manner but don't run. Well, occasionally I run, but the norm is a reasonably paced meander. I like looking at the produce section and all of the colors. If I'm buying paper towels I look for the coolest pattern and tissues need to be in boxes that coordinate with the room or are fun to look at. These little touches make life more fun and brings a bit of happy to household jobs. I notice when my paper towel has Peanuts characters on it and it makes doing windows a little less boring.
My favorite is finding new products in a store and trying any that look cool. Weird salsas, exotic fruits and different kinds of chips are just waiting to be found. If I just run in and shop the list then I miss the experience of being surrounded by variety and choice. Why would I want technology to take that away? Don't get me wrong, I love technology in many ways. But I draw that line at having it take away the experience of everyday life. I hope to never sacrifice the mundane in exchange for a chance to be more busy.
I like my non-sentient refrigerator and hope to keep it that way.
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