Wednesday, January 09, 2019

Why Alexa And I Won't Be Friends Soon



"Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men."  ...Proverbs 22:29

"You can't finish if you didn't start."   ... Chris Brady


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Now, no one go getting your panties all in a twist, okay?  This is my blog and my opinion so I think this is allowed.  ツ

But really, me and Alexa the virtual assistant? Uh, no. Not yet.

Why not? Because my poor ol' brain needs challenges. Exercise. Yanking. Already I step down to the basement and think, "Now, why did I come down here?"--and seriously--do I want to become more forgetful, sooner, because I let someone else think for me?

Uh, no. Firmly I believe in, "Don't use it? You'll lose it."

Like with that husband God gave me.

After the honeymoon, I read those Christian marriage books, you know, the ones which pretty much say, "Your husband is the king. You, Missy, are just the servant and aren't you blessed?"

And good gracious. For decades I did everything for Tom except go to his job with him, care for the car or cut his hair. 

But then 30 years into this I looked at what I'd created--and it was not good. Man, if I'd have passed away back then? Tom woulda died soon after due to pure helplessness and the ability only to make toast. (No really, we joke about this.) 

But uh-oh! The big lay-off of 2010 showed the glaring discrepancies. Oh, Tom mowed parts of the huge lawn, yes, but otherwise you knew where on the farm to find him--in his recliner. With the computer, the tv, a cat or a meal and a glass of water (that I'd brought to him) on his lap.

Debra, though--she could be anywhere. Cleaning, vacuuming, gardening, cooking, dusting, laundering, ironing, mowing, shopping, painting, feeding cats, washing windows, making beds ----

Honey, something was wrong with that picture. 

Slowly I woke up, slowly I insisted upon some changes and slowly Tom has become  a more competent, self-reliant, happy guy for it. 

Now? He makes pancakes on weekends and can cook steaks and burgers and stir fry vegetables. He does all the upkeep of his room, sometimes cleans the bathroom, feeds Daniel the Cat on weekends (and other instances), carries his dishes to the dishwasher and puts away his slacks when I iron them.

And oh, we both feel better about these changes.

I like challenging myself to do better than I did yesterday. To take pleasure in daily rituals rather than resent the myriad little details one must do in Life or around the house. To stretch my brain by doing my own research, learning and memorization.

I'm hoping to keep this ol' brain going with only God's help for years to come.

But if it begins to majorly falter? Well, then I'll consider becoming friends with Alexa. After I need her help. 

But today? I'm fine. I'll keep using my own fingers and my brain to remember to turn off the lights, lock the doors, turn up the music, read my own books or zoom myself around the Net in search of answers.

Thanks, anyway, Alexa. See ya around later. Maybe.







"My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."   ... Psalm 121:2


There's serving our husbands as God would want, then there's doing for them what they should be doing for themselves.


Really, every once in awhile I believe we should pause and ask ourselves, "What am I creating here? Is it something I'll be pleased with 10 years from now?"


May I do what makes my mind stronger, not weaker, in the years to come.



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The Importance of Brain Exercise



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And for others who enjoy thinking outside the box? I found a fun show at Netflix, one called How to Live Mortgage Free with Sarah Beeny

Tons of wonderful, creative ideas there of how to own/build/pay-off your home in less than the usual 30 (or so) years.

Really, the colorful creative building ideas were my favorite, but of course.


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Oh! Did you hear the price of postage stamps is going to make a huge hike soon?

Eegads.

Oh well. Yesterday I went to the post office online and bought some really pretty stamps. Saved about 4 whole future dollars, but hey! I'll take it.


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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those are all great reasons not to have Alexa, but another good one is security. I’ve heard too many stories of it turning on and off by itself and saying somewhat creepy things. Not me. I’m happy just the way it is. Have a great day Debra.
Blessings, Betsy

Pam said...


Ditto to not having Alexa in my home. My father-in-law received one for Christmas 2017, and they get all kinds of weird messages. They turn it off but somehow it comes back on and says off-the-wall stuff. My inlaws find it entertaining, but I find it creepy. I'm sure the technology will improve, and it must be very helpful for some folks, but I'm not ready for it.

Debi @ Tuesdays Child said...

No Alexa for me either - I was thinking more due to security [spying!] reasons and never once thought about the brain but you are so right, if we don't use it, we'll most definitely lose it. That's why I'm trying to work on more puzzles and such - the word search don't help me I don't think [they bore me more than anything] but I do love the fill it in puzzles and also the logic ones as well. Plus jigsaw puzzles. I'm home all of the time and no idea why I can't make time to do more of them than I do. I'm always busy doing something here [and trust me, it's not cleaning. Ha! ha!]

Anonymous said...

As I sit here on one more wet cool day - I get to stay vicariously -
via you and your garden.

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