Not that long ago no kitchen was complete without a can opener. Today the object of choice appears to be a pair of scissors.
A number of frozen food companies are packaging their products in plastic bags that can be zipped shut before putting them back into the freezer. To get to that magical zip lock on the bag, one must first cut open the bag with scissors.
Ripping the bag simply will not work, neither will can openers: you need the scissors.
My wife tells me that closing the zip lock bags after they have been opened is easy. Maybe it is for her, but for me it is something of a challenge. I can never get those little grooves in the right place to snap the bag shut. I usually end up faking it, pretending that the bag is securely shut and then tossing it back into the fridge, hopefully unnoticed by anyone other than me.
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Of course my deception is quickly uncovered. The next time someone reaches into the freezer compartment for a bag of frozen vegetables they end up spilling them all over the kitchen floor. Goodness knows how many times I have covered our floors with frozen peas or corn. To make matters worse, my wife is always standing there when I drop the goodies and I cannot sneak them into the boiling pot of water without her seeing me do it. Into the garbage they must go. Into my shame I must crawl.
Zip lock bags are just another of the changes we have had to accommodate over the years. A hundred years ago hardly anyone in the country had electric lights. Now an evening landscape in the country is covered with them. Seventy-five years ago only a few people had a truck. Today no farm would be complete without at least one.
Fifty years ago most people did not have television sets. Today they are essential. Twenty-five years ago a few homes had personal computers, but the internet was nowhere to be found. Today, just about everyone has an e-mail address.
The changes, for the most part, are wonderful. Life is much less physically demanding than it ever has been and the opportunities to learn new things are all over the place.
But the changes are only workable as long as they are helping us follow the path to enriching experiences. When they run interference with our interpersonal relationships, they are a problem. Think about it. What could be more devastating than to be sitting with the person whom you love the most, enjoying a romantic meal, while one of you is chatting on the cellphone.
That is even more shameful than spilling peas and corn all over the kitchen floor.
Jacklin Andrews is a family counsellor from Saskatchewan who has taught social work at two universities. Mail correspondence in care of Western Producer, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or e-mail jandrews@producer.com.
