Improvement

This is a picture of the hair dryer I have been using since I went to college. That was 1990. To top that off, I have been sharing it with my teenage daughter. It doesn't work very well, it shuts off after a few minutes of blowing. It tortures us! Yet, it worked. Because it still worked, I have kept it and refused to buy a new one. This year for Christmas, I asked my daughter's grandparents to get her a new hairdryer. When I tried her brand new one, I couldn't get over how much better it was. Yet, I felt trapped with my trusty, old one because it still worked. I certainly wasn't going to spend my money on a new one.

The next Sunday, I was at my own grandmother's house. She had won a hairdryer in a drawing and she asked me if I wanted it. I confessed that I had been using the same hairdryer for 20 years and it would be nice to get a new one. Typical to my family's way of thinking my dad quipped "Doesn't the other one still work?". My answer was yes, it does still work. However, what is wrong with accepting something with improved quality? My hair gets dry in half the time. It has actually made a big difference in trying to get ready in the morning. I began wondering how much of my life could have been simplified if I had been willing to replace something that was still working.

I guess this brings me to a bigger question. What else in my life do I need to do? Why not buy or do something simply because it improves the quality of my life? I need to be willing to look at things that might be working, but can be easily improved. Or, what else am I holding onto that needs to be replaced.

I am amazed at the lesson of a simple hairdryer. It has been a part of my life through college, marriage and raising 4 kids, over half of my life! I am glad is it still working and around to teach me how silly some ideas can be.