The other day Marty and I were reminiscing about big, new things that came into our homes when we were kids.  Things that were a huge deal at the time, that are either no longer in use or so normal now that they would seem completely unremarkable to our kids.  This made us feel very old.  For example:

Microwaves:  I remember when we got our first microwave.  It was huge and had a dial.  You could heat up water in no time flat.  It came with a cookbook that described how you could make a turkey in it, and we thought it was fascinating (although we never tried it).  I remember thinking it was a big purchase at the time, and this year when we had to replace our microwave I carried that thought with me when we drove to Sears.  I was shocked to find that we could get a new microwave for about $80.00, thinking that it would be in the hundreds.  It felt like such a bargain.  Plus it's tiny.  And can still heat up water in no time.

Car Phones: When my dad got his first car phone, it was installed so that it was built into the center console.  We thought it was luxurious and fascinating.  We were never allowed to use it, especially not for chatting.  Other than my dad using it for business, his other main use was to call people as we were pulling into their driveway to tell them to look out their window.  It was such a big joke, because no one had car phones then so no one ever expected to get a call from someone in the driveway.

Computerized Car Equipment:  I remember driving to the Cities one time when we were young in my Great Uncle Herb's new Lincoln.  It was a big, fancy boat of a car and I'm pretty sure that there were seven of us in it (which probably meant that my brother Ryan sat on someone's lap in the back).  This car had an early navigation system in it in which you could enter your starting point and the destination and it would show you how far you had to go before you arrived.  It was the most amazing thing we'd ever seen.

VCR: When we were kids, the big thing at slumber parties was to rent a VCR and get a few movies.  After a few years, people started to get VCR's in their homes, but still not everyone had them.  I remember watching The Making of Thriller (we thought it was SO cool), National Lampoon's Vacation (not allowed at my house because it was RATED R), and The Hitcher (also not allowed at our house for just being too scary for my dad).  Once we got a VCR, we rented movies every weekend.  Usually the same ones - The Toy (we were too young to understand some of the humor, which explains why my parents let us watch it), Ice Pirates (have you ever seen this, it's ridiculous!) and Strange Brew were in constant rotation.  Unless my mom was picking, then it was Savannah Smiles.

8-Tracks: I remember driving to Colorado in my grandparents suped-up van.  This was the kind of van that was sort of like a mini-RV.  It had a pull out bed, a little fridge, a tiny bathroom, and the latest in audio technology - a built-in 8-track player.  We thought it was the COOLEST thing ever.  My dad borrowed the Simon & Garfunkel 8-track from a guy at work and we listened to it the whole way to Colorado.  I don't think "Mrs. Robinson" can possibly sound better than when played on an 8-track player in a suped up van listened to by a young girl on her first road trip.

Oh, and there's so much more and the more I type the older I feel.  Like any other generation before mine, maybe this just means that in the end it will be part of our definition.  Instead of talking about "walking six miles to school in a blizzard, uphill both ways" we'll be the ones that say "When I was your age I had to carry a boom box on my shoulder, bring my own cardboard for breakdancing, and make sure that my legwarmers didn't slide down while I was doing the worm."  Because if you're going to create your own hardship story, it might as well be interesting if not completely accurate.