#30 reflected on old new things

I was out staining and oiling my wooden gates this morning -- trying to get done before the temperature breaks 104 and before the July rains start. I briefly wondered if there was any way to get a new thing of the morning's work. Nope, nothing new here unless I try to do it standing on my head or blindfolded...

But it did get me thinking about how many things I take totally for granted that were at one time "new things" in my life, and at the time of newness, pretty darn neat.

So, here is a list of a few of this morning's OLD things, that were once new...

1) woke up to an alarm clock playing a musical CD track
2) turned off a ceiling fan by remote control
3) used a light switch
4) used a toilet
5) used a faucet
6) swallowed a pill
7) looked in a mirror
8) brushed my teeth
9) shaved
10) took a shower
11) washed my hair
12) squeegeed (is that a word? oh well, its past tense now...)
13) used a towel
14) pulled on pants
15) pushed buttons through holes on a shirt
16) used a microwave oven
17) used a coffee maker
18) opened a refrigerator
19) put dishes in a dish washer
20) pulled on socks
21) put on shoes & tied my own laces (woohoo!!)
22) opened a sliding door
23) used a garden hose
24) opened a swinging door
25) pressed a button to open a garage door
26) opened a gallon can of oil wood stain
27) mixed stain
28) put down drop cloths
29) put on gloves
30) used a paint brush
31) cleaned up my own mess
32) saw a cat
33) had a conversation with a cat
34) used a washing machine
10) took a shower (again)
35) used a laptop computer
36) read the news online
37) turned on a TV with a remote
38) read interesting experiences of people I've never met in their blogs
39) thought about what I'm going to do today, how and when
40) made a blog entry to possibly be read by people I know and some I don't

and so on...

Jeeeze... at this rate I'll have several hundred old new things by the end of the day -- maybe I've been going about this all wrong! *smile*

There are a lot of pretty neat things we do or experience without giving them a second thought. I try (and often forget) to remind myself of all the people in the world, or in past history, who have never had a chance to do some of things we take so much for granted. Note to self: Its instructive to experience life as if this was the first time, and perhaps last time, that we could experience the "new thing", even if its an old thing.