Happy end of summer / start of fall   (also known as the time of year when we think summer will never end).  I have high hopes of “speaking/writing” cooler weather into existence!

It’s a new world.  I remember a story I heard once (okay, maybe 12 times), about a frog in a pot.  The story goes that you can cook a frog in a pot, and he will not jump out if you turn the heat up so slowly that he just gets used to it.

This past week, I had a frog moment.  I walked up to my car and grabbed the door handle to open it, but it did not unlock.  Odd, I thought.  And then I remembered.  My keys were no longer in my purse, because I had handed them to my husband.  I turned around to go back in the house and unlocked the door.  How, without keys?  Smart locks, of course.   I grabbed my keys and merrily went on my way.

The frog moment came later.  I was sitting at my desk, where I opened a drawer and spotted a key ring with 2 keys on it.  For the life of me, I have zero idea what those keys are for.  In fact, we have an entire basket of keys I cannot make myself get rid of “just in case.”  I know in my heart as soon as we toss those keys, we will find the lock that goes with at least one of them!

And that is when I realized it.  I had become a frog.

At some point over the last few years, I had quit using real, honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned keys!  The “key” to my car is just a fob.  The “keys” to the house are a code of numbers.  Same goes for the keys to the homes of parents and children.  All gone.  With the exception of a post office key and safe deposit box key, I think technology has removed the rest.

As has been mentioned in this space before, possibly more than once, I often have a love/hate relationship with technology.  More love than hate usually, but for some unknown reason, this “key” moment set me back on my heels a bit.

What other things had changed without me really thinking about it?  A lot.  Almost everything, in fact.  The way we watch TV. The way we spend money.  The way we give money.  The way we shop.  The way we do almost every single thing in our lives.

One thing has not changed–the way it feels when someone is kind and thoughtful.  Hang on to that.  In fact, go ahead and call one of our fine advertisers and tell them how much you appreciate them bringing you this magazine.  It will make them feel good…and you, too.

Until next time, ribbit.