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Making Do

I'm typing this on an old Chromebook my wife gave me in 2013. Then it was the finest of things. Many new, shinier things have come along in nine years.

Still, this is a delightful tool. I'm impressed it still works well enough. Google put out a Chrome OS for old machines. Previously, they killed things off after three years. Now, so far as I can tell, this can go on and on. I hope so anyway.

Of course, there are issues with such an old machine. The battery is terrible. The fan runs constantly and sounds like I'm on an airplane. But beyond that, there's not much difference from the first time I opened it.

There's also joy in using something old and in not buying new. Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. Rhyming words to live by.

Has me thinking about the fountain pen, cast-iron pans, my father's old cars and my brother driving them all around town. Has me thinking of living in this house for two decades, married for twenty-seven yearsand being in love for thirty-one.

It's easy to want shiny new things, to be sold on upgrades, but going back to what I already have, what works, and what has lasted turns out to feel pretty good. Certainly good enough to make do and more than enough to bring joy. Something money just can't buy.