modern [in]conveniences

Do you know how inconvenient it is when you cannot use something that you didn't even realize you depended on - and then *poof* it's gone??

Let's say your (ahem, my) microwave is dead. Dead. Not working. Doesn't heat. No lights. Dead.
Problematic. Very problematic. Chad wrestled it out of the wall from the nook above the stove...and it now rests on the counter. And it's huge. And did I mention it's not working???
Sure, I can cook anything on the stove top and bypass the microwave completely - but it's just so darn convenient, you know?!?

Then, let's say that your (again, my) debit card is lost. I know it's lost somewhere in Wal-Mart, which makes me feel really safe about losing it.
While shopping last night, I put Carys in the back of the cart and she was happy as a clam.

Carys: Mom, I put your money in your purse.
Me: Okay, sweetie-wait? What?
Carys: Your money is in your purse.

I quickly realized that I left my purse in the back of the cart with her, which is a huge no-no. There are far too many fancy schmancy things in the wee Vera Bradley to draw her eyes. I had just gone to the ATM and had some bills in my wallet - which I suspect she found while she was rifling thru it for stickers (which I confiscate from the pediatrician's office for meltdown moments in grocery checkout lines).
Anyway, I take the money, take the purse. Make sure my glucometer isn't lying on the floor, and I take off. (Hello - Grey's Anatomy premiered last night - I had to get home. Although I ended up taping it anyway.) I didn't think to check for my debit card. Or my Blockbuster card, for that matter. But both have strangely disappeared.
And it's lucky that I just happened to have my checkbook with me - I never carry it. I would have been an embarrassed little mama at the checkout line with no way to pay for my goodies.
I use my debit card for everything - I'm in mourning. I finally memorized the stupid PIN, and now I have to memorize another one. Frustration, with a capital F. It was starting to give me trouble anyway - the magnetic strip was so worn. RIP, my little plastic friend.

Anyway, I called & cancelled the card and requested a new one. They charge eight bucks for that little piece of plastic. But it's worth my piece of mind.