Monday, November 23, 2009

Three Things I Take for Granted

Getting my teeth cleaned at the dentist
Can you guess where I went this afternoon? What a luxury, when you think about it. To lie back in a comfortable chair, open my mouth, and have another human pick out the crusty plaque built up along my gum line. (Makes me think of gorillas picking bugs off each other.) Without the assistance of my friendly dental hygienist, I would probably have very few teeth left. We complain about going to the dentist, but really, we are so spoiled.


Hot, clean water
Oh, my. We have so much of this. Last week one of the twins was complaining because her bath water wasn't so hot after several of us had already showered that morning. I explained to her that she already had more almost-hot water in the tub than pioneer children would have had. She had more almost-hot water in the tub than my grandparents had let me use in their tub when I visited as a child. When I stayed in Costa Rica, the shower water was heated by an element right at the shower head (scary). The only way to have warm water was to turn the water on to just a trickle. Brrrr. I enjoy a hot shower whenever I want.


Comfortable shoes
I just assume that I can go to the store, try on several pairs, and find something that will fit. My everyday shoes right now are trail runners by Salomon. They have Gore-Tex uppers and they are VERY comfortable. I am sad that I can't wear them on Sundays. I wonder how many people it required to make my shoes? What is their standard of living, and how far away are they. I'm fairly certain they live overseas in reduced circumstances. I wish the world could be more fair. I love my shoes.

I hope you have figured out that there are WAAAAAY more than three things I take for granted. I might write more about them some other time. But these are the three I am writing about tonight. What do you take for granted?

4 comments:

Dorothy said...

Electricty! Heat! Shelter! I almost feel bad sometimes having these things when I know so many people in the world don't enjoy these luxuries. (And so many more that would take DAYS to list...)

JuliaKoponick said...

Tylenol and ibuprofen that help bring down fevers. What would we do if we had to bear the full brunt of the fevers that go with flu, colds, pneumonia, etc?

Patricia said...

-Full, functioning church wards.
Nathan just got transferred to a city in Poland where there are four Elders and one active member. Lots of potential for teaching!
-A reliable car, especially in bad weather--thinking of missionaries again.
-Education-

kati said...

being able to go the grocery store and buy whatever my family needs. That is a major blessing!