Some things change; some things don't.

I cleaned the old plastic Sunbeam thermometer today that’s been attached to my kitchen window for the entire 28 years I’ve lived here but, judging by the corroding aluminum bracket holding it angled in toward the sink, it’s been here for decades longer than that. I am very fond of it. It’s been a dependable guide. Simple, no-frills, reliable, care-free. Today it registered 76°F.

I also cleaned out the weather station sensor that my husband bought six or seven years ago. For that, I had to go upstairs to retrieve four AA batteries from the closet, downstairs to get a Phillips head screwdriver, all of which I put in a fanny pack. I went outside, opened the shed door, hauled out the stepladder to set up next to the shed so I could climb up to the sensor mounted on the shed roof. I unzipped the pack, reached in for the screwdriver, unscrewed the two set screws holding the unit in place and placed them on the paint tray, lifted it off its mount and turned it upside down to access the notched trap door of the battery compartment. Removing the four dead batteries and placing them on the paint tray, I dug into the fanny pack again for the fresh ones and replaced the whole set. Then I reversed the whole process, reinstalling the unit on the mount with the set screws, stashing the dead batteries and screwdriver back in the fanny pack, descending the ladder, folding it up and putting it back in the shed. I came inside to check the base station to confirm the unit had found the wireless connection. Sure enough, it registered the correct temperature – 76°; same as the old plastic thermometer. (By the way, I’ll have to repeat that process in 10-12 weeks. Every. 10-12. Weeks.)

No matter how you measure the temperature here today, it’s 76°.

It got me thinking.

Some things change; some things don’t.

Here’s something that changes frequently over time – a lifetime or a longer, historical time: how we see others, how we live together, share common agreements and rules – our social contract at the time – and how we hold others accountable. Of course, you have to take that full circle, that is, how others see us and hold us accountable. And then there is how we see ourselves, in relation to others, how we hold ourselves accountable, how we modify or adapt our beliefs about shared social contracts.

Here's something that doesn’t change, has never changed and will never change: we are all in this together.

No matter how you measure it. Please set aside some time to give that some thought in the week ahead.

Peace and love to you in the week ahead.