Not Good with Change? Join the Club.

Last week I met two of my cousins for lunch at Krasa's Kove in Findley Lake, New York.  In the course of our time together one cousin, who recently returned from several months in Florida, was talking about how she had cleaned out all of her closets, and I think her garage as well, since her return north.  What? I was unable to speak.  I just looked at her and then snuck a peek at the other cousin to see if her jaw had dropped as well.  You see this other cousin and I have been talking off and on all winter about how we need to clean out our closets, basements, garages, etc.  We have even considered cleaning out each other's as an incentive to get the job done -- you know -- thinking it would be fun to sort out someone else's stuff... like it is more fun to clean up someone else's kitchen than your own.  Alas -- we have accomplished very little. Our closets remain clogged, and although this other cousin has cleaned her basement and garage,  the spiders have settled into my basement- spinning a veritable web of condos by now for sure -- and my garage...? I have only swept it twice since the first thaw. Among the three of us, I am definitely in last place.  To sit there and listen to someone who has actually accomplished these tasks is to sit in awe.  It is impressive. Here's my theory --- at the core of the problem is that I do not like change. Further, I don't like to part with my favorite clothing and "stuff". I might need it again.  I am, for example, still mourning the loss of a long green knit dress that I used to wear on particularly cold winter days. Can you identify? Are there others out there who have clothing in three sizes?

Okay; so there. I confess that I am on the stodgy side as far as change is concerned. I tend to hang on.  It is a fact that I have had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the current world as it evolves and the new enters. I have my theories as to why, but who cares really?  It doesn't matter.  I am who I am in this respect. I actually think that one of the reasons I retired from teaching is that "they" took away my blackboard and chalk and replaced it with a whiteboard setup complete with electronic everything and markers that have a disgusting odor about them.  Oh my, ... it was all too much! The whiteness of that board and coping with adolescents who could text without looking at their hidden cell phones were most irritating. Handling and policing electronics in the classroom take away from the ideal learning experience as far as I am concerned. I fear that there is a large percentage of young people out there who do not know how to talk with other people unless they can use abbreviations and emoticons, not to mention all those who don't know how to add or subtract in their head, or... how to make change properly. (Please don't send me one of those "Old Fart" baseball hats.  I know... I know....)   

Is there a point when tolerance levels drop and the ability/willingness to adapt changes? Having discussed this with others on a couple of occasions, I am thinking that the answer is "yes".  Nevertheless, although my closets are overflowing at the moment and my To Do List is long... most often I eventually do come around and adapt -- often I actually adopt the latest and wonder how I ever did without it. Cable TV and Caller ID are just two examples. Going back a bit further,  I also own a microwave and, in fact, use it once in a while to melt butter, to make popcorn or to warm up left-overs. Does anyone actually cook in a microwave?  Further... I am typing on the keyboard that is attached to my desktop PC, but... I also own a laptop and an android phone, both of which I know how to use - sort of. I installed my own WiFi. Impressed? When I first heard of these "inventions" I thought they were newfangled gimmicks, gizmos with no future. I didn't buy Microsoft stock at the beginning either.  So -- that tells you something. Some of us change resistant folks miss a few opportunities.

Some things do not change, however.  Take a good hot dog and "home made" ice cream, for example.  You can find those for sure on Findley Lake, New York at Krasa's Kove. They serve the best -- Smith's and Addie's.  It is especially nice when you can share them with fun cousin/friends...even if one of them does have clean closets and the other an organized basement and garage. Some things it is just necessary to forget and forgive.  Plus -- I am thinking that it is possible that clean closets, basements, and garages will need cleaning again. There's still time to catch up...or not. My cousins don't care if I am behind.  We have more important and fun things to care about.  That will never change.  Nice....