Note to future self: Be thankful

Someday, when I look back on our Moldovan experience, I'm sure it will all be a fuzzy blur as it is swallowed into the recesses of my dimming memory.  I may generally remember that it was cold for a long time, that we met some great people, that we had a nice house with wide window-sills.... and I doubt I'll forget the dogs.

But of course there are hundreds of details that make up our daily living here, and some of them have made me long for the comforts of home again.  I tell myself I will be so thankful when I get home and get to use my nice deep sink to rinse the dishes before I put them in the dishwasher.... but I know my appreciation for this will wane eventually.  

So lest I begin to take for granted again some of the material things I have missed while here, I have composed this list.  

These are the things I want to remember to be grateful for:

The well/holes in our front yard
 (I made Pete find heavy things to put on top) 

• Saran wrap that comes in a box with a cutter
• A garbage disposal
• Getting a return greeting when you say hello to people you pass on the street
• Not having open wells and/or other large holes in the middle of the front yard, which the kids insist on playing around
• Getting mail within days, not months, of when it is sent
• Not having to unlock a padlock on the gate every time you want to back the car out of the driveway, then get out of the car again to re-lock it
• The FDA
• Sanitation ratings for food handlers
• Not having to walk your trash down around the corner to another street
• Having public restrooms at church, in schools, etc., that have toilet seats (and toilet paper) (and soap)
• A dishwasher
• Not waking up to large spots of mold on the walls and ceilings every morning
• Fluorescent lights that don’t continue to blink – when they’re off
• Smoke alarms
• Building codes
• Roads not full of potholes everywhere
• Drivers who stay in lanes on a road
• Drivers who are kind and let you “in” sometimes
• Drivers who generally follow traffic laws
• Policemen who are not usually looking for bribes
• A government that does not openly steal millions of dollars, and not get punished for it
• A government who uses tax money to benefit people
• Whole grain rice
• Whole wheat flour
• Brown sugar
• Molasses
• Inexpensive peanut butter
• Peanut butter in jars larger than my hand
• A deep sink
• Not having to empty the little sink drain in the trash several times every time we wash dishes
• Neighbors who do not throw large pieces of wood at dogs who get out of their own yards
• Light bulbs that last longer than a month
• Not having to take extremely crowded buses to get around the city
• Scent-free detergent (or really, scent-free anything)
• Leash laws (or, not having wild dogs roaming the city streets)

Be thankful for these things, Future Self, for not everyone has them!