Itchy Noses, Burning Ears, and Dropped Silverware: Life Used to Be So Much Easier

I grew up in the 50's and 60's when parents knew the meaning of an itchy nose, red or burning ears, itchy palms, or an accidental dropping of silverware. In other words, beware. After checking for a child's on-coming cold, an ear infection, dirty hands, or unnecessary clumsiness, parents knew what these meant: someone out there was thinking about you, talking about you, possibly planning to kiss you, give you cash, or stop in for a visit.

Life really was much easier then.
If I dropped a fork or spoon while setting the table, I envisioned someone exciting stopping at the farmhouse later. After all, the piece of silverware slipped out of my hands for some particular reason. I hadn't been clumsy lately; the "curse" wasn't due. It had to mean something.

Itchy hears? Someone was surely talking about ME, and I day-dreamed about whom it might be. Had to be all good.... Maybe, a secret admirer.

When we received a phone call from someone we had been thinking about, we KNEW that our thoughts more-than-likely flew through the air in some mysterious way from one to another.

Email and texting operate in the same way. Right? It's just a little harder now. We have to get out our phone or computer, connect to the internet, and use a little keyboard to punch out letters that become words for our thoughts and then press "send." In a few seconds, after flying through the air, it arrives with a "ding" or some other noisy announcement to the recipient.

Like I said, it used to be so much easier.
No phones, no computers, just thoughts flying all over, filling the sky up with, "I love you," "Thinking of you," "Please call me," "I miss you."

I use email. I text. But, I prefer to think that my expressions of love and sympathy and forgiveness are out there filling up the sky, traveling from my house to theirs, from state to state, from coast to coast letting those precious people from my past and from my now life, how often I think about them and how much I care.

A couple of thoughts: 1) Thank goodness, no internet needed to get ahold of God. 2) Just in case the person on the other end of all your loving thoughts isn't feeling what you're sending, get out your phone, your internet, your tiny little keyboard and use Plan B.