Use the Good Stuff
11-13-09

I have thought about this topic many times over the years and I am apparently not alone in my thoughts. I have seen several articles in print and online about it recently. This time of year I always think about it more when it comes time to set the table for holiday gatherings. I get out my grandmother’s china twice a year - MAYBE. I have it packed away so safe that it is a chore to use it. It is beautiful and I should make the effort to use it more often. A cup of tea using grandma’s cup and saucer would be nice anytime.

It is a mystery to me why people “save things for good” and never get to enjoy them. I have done it myself in the past but not anymore! Thrift stores love these people. That’s how they get great new stuff to put on their shelves. All those things we saved and then never got to use.

I suppose this phenomenon is sometimes a desire to preserve things for a future generation such as the china, or to increase the value of a collection. But it should not apply to normal everyday items. Yes, I have worn out many hand embroidered pillowcases and dish towels and broken a few dishes. But I loved each and every item as long as it lasted.

We all know someone who has plastic slip covers on their furniture or plastic runners on the carpet. Who wants to sit on plastic and never feel the richness of fabric? And, sure the carpet stays cleaner under that runner. But why have carpet you can’t walk on? Just put down linoleum if you are afraid of dirty carpet.

Now I understand sometimes you need clothes or shoes specifically for certain occasions. But, if you have a favorite article of clothing or a fabulous pair of shoes WEAR THEM. If you don’t they will be out of style or won’t fit anymore.

And get those good towels out of the back of the linen closet. Don’t save them for company. Get the goody out of them yourself. Chances are, your guests have ratty towels at their house too. It will make them feel right at home.

Remember that perfume you got last Christmas? You know you want to use it. DO IT! If you save it too long it will go rancid and you will have to throw it away.

My drawers are full of cards and stationery “too pretty to use.” Too pretty for who? Me? I am sure that the recipient of these pretty notes would be quite pleased. The whole reason to send them is to bring happiness, but laying in the drawer they don’t bring joy to anyone.

We buy things because we like them. We should allow ourselves to indulge in the things we like. People give us gifts because they want us to enjoy them. We should honor the gift givers by never tucking things away for another time.

Use the good stuff. Bring happiness and beauty to your life every day.

How Far We Have Come
10-09-09

Today’s generation of young adults raising kids have only had to be concerned with normal childhood vaccinations. They probably have never had the measles, mumps, or whooping cough nor known anyone who did. They just know that the vaccines are required. Another thing they have no concept of is the devastation of an epidemic or a disfiguring disease other than what they have read of been told. More than likely they have never known anyone who died from tetanus, or anyone living with the effects of polio or small pox, or anyone who had to “go away” because they had tuberculosis.

Those are all frightening and those of us who are 50 something or older remember. We are no strangers to lining up for vaccines.

Smallpox can be traced back to 10,000 BC. It killed millions of people worldwide. The success of the smallpox vaccine in the 19th and 20th centuries has made it the only human infectious disease to be completely eradicated. I was too young to remember getting this vaccine, and I don’t have the telltale round scar that most people have. I do remember asking my mother if I had received it since I didn’t have the same scar as all my friends, and being relieved that I was indeed properly vaccinated.

Polio vaccines are administered both as a live virus orally, and a injection of the killed virus. As a small child I recall going to the armory for a sugar cube and thinking that was definately the way to get a “shot.” Way better that the injections we got at school! Polio scared parents in the 1950's so much that they did not question the safety of a vaccine. In 1954 more than a million children received an experimental vaccine.

When the new measles vaccine came out in 1968, we all got one. It was administered at school and everyone was dreading it. We were all concerned with getting a shot and being “brave” in front of all our peers. Turned out we were worried for nothing because we got our vaccinations with the new air gun method. It was a breeze. We were all cool and our reputations remained intact.

When the Swine Flu broke out in 1976 there was panic. A vaccine was quickly made available, but it proved to be worse than the flu. There was only 1 death from the flu, and 25 deaths from the vaccine. Another 500 people contracted Gillian Barre disease from the vaccine and were paralyzed. The haste to provide the vaccine did not have a positive outcome.

With today’s H1N1 virus many people were concerned that it took so long to develop and produce the vaccine, but it is so much better to be sure that the vaccine is safe. Forms of H1N1 have circulated widely throughout the 20th century. The most notable outbreak being the deadly Spanish Flu of 1918. Others were in 1947, 1957, and 1977. People are concerned about getting sick with the virus, and just as many people are concerned about getting sick from the vaccine. The current pandemic is scary and the vaccine being in short supply doesn’t help ease that. The media tells us that thousands of people die every year from the seasonal flu. Yet the daily news says nothing of those people. Instead, every day we hear how many are sick with the H1N1 virus and how many have died. I say be careful, get the vaccine if you need it, and don’t let panic consume you.