"Stuff"

Two brief thoughts on "stuff."

When we had been in America (visiting Dan's family) just a few days, we were offered a house to stay in which was furnished and equipped, but not being lived in at that time. My 11 year old daughter and I opened cupboards in the laundry room and were amazed that they were fully stocked with varieties of  liquids, stain removers, chlorine bleach, fabric softeners, all brands which I had never heard of - in fact I said to Abby, "Which one do you think just washes the clothes?" We picked the one called "All" and it seemed to do the trick!

Then we found the kitchen cupboards equally full, with gadgets and supplies. Abby's comment was: "To think, we have lived for eight years happily in Uganda, not missing anything, doing everything we wanted, and then, we come here, and the cupboards are full of things we have never seen before, and yet people tell us we can't live without them."

(We had actually seen washing powder in Uganda..., just in case you were wondering, but, our cupboards were not full of a whole range ... one box usually did it.)

Today I thought about "stuff," or rather, "wanting stuff," when the Sunday Times newspaper came through the door. We are still house-sitting for friends, so it was their paper being delivered, and so, free for us! That paper has sat unread all day. Dan will read it later but I don't think I will get to it. But, only a matter of weeks ago, I was living in Uganda, where, the most recent Sunday Times was surprisingly available in a petrol station shop in Bugolobi - for 24,000 Ug shillings which is eight pounds! Needless to say, I never bought it. But, I often stood and gazed at it longingly, thinking how much I would love to browse through that paper if only I could afford it.

Is it just human nature - to want the things we can't have, and not to want the things that are easily available? I've still only bought one chocolate bar since being back in England...