"Virtual" changes

I have often marveled at the quick pace of change that my grandparents and great-grandparents generation saw. In a matter of just a few years, they went from horses and buggies to automobiles and then space travel. I have often assumed that I would not see such change in my own life... we kind of seemed advanced enough already.

But this week it occurred to me that ten years ago I was living in Alicante, Spain. It was a time pre-facebook and pre-skype. I was paying by the minute at an internet cafe to instant message friends and check my e-mail. I had a film camera. And the only music I had with me were the c.d.s I had brought and bought, whereas the MP3s that I had downloaded on my computer back in the States were kind of just stuck on the computer.

So where my grandparents saw rapid changes and advancements in travel, I have seen rapid advancements in communication and technology. When I was born, computers filled entire rooms, and now I have three in my house, two of which are portable, plus two iPhones which are essentially pocket computers. When I was born, everyone had a landline (which Van and I have never had). I remember when caller i.d. was the new thing, and I know what a busy sound on a phone sounds like (because some people - like my Mom - thought "call waiting" was rude...)

What changes have you seen? I think that so often the changes are so subtle we don't even realize it's happening... maybe we never even consider all the things that have changed around us - and even within us.

One month from today I will be thirty!! Time sure does fly when you're having fun!

What I do not want is to avoid embracing the changes that come...  over the last ten years, as one of the "youth" I have accepted all of the changes with patience and enjoyment. I liked having an iPod better than a disc man. I have liked having cell phones, communicating through Facebook, and all of the other small subtle changes that I have seen... but as I pass into another decade, I want to continue to learn... to stay sharp with the advancements, and to not despair the changes that are occurring... because not all changes are bad.