This is what's said about hard work and experiencing friction in life. Usually said by a bystander. There is a glee in those words: glad I'm not in your shoes. Time to toughen you up. The thing is there is another way things have character, or at least that I ascribe character to them.
See I have this TV that is approaching its 15th birthday. Ancient by technology standards. The remote does not work. It's been dropped or used as a hammer by my children so much that I am amazed that the case is still intact. The buttons on the TV itself are iffy too. Pressing the power button engages you in a mini waiting game. Did I press it hard enough? Or do I need to press it longer? I haven't figured out the magic formula. Gotta hold your mouth right.
I know we could buy a universal remote. Or a new TV. The thing is that old TV has a charm to it. It's been through a lot. We have moved seven times since that TV was purchased. My wife bought that TV before we were married, before she knew me. Now we have two kids, live in a different state. The TV has been around longer than I have from its perspective. And it gets the job done.
It's like my first car. A 2001 Honda Civic in Rallye red. I didn't pick the color; I didn't pick anything about it except that it was the right price. $2,998. And they knocked another $50 off since it had no rearview mirror. The driver's side windshield wiper would flop off the side of the car slightly when it was engaged. And if you wanted to open the passenger door you had to roll the window down since the inside handle was broken. That last feature is how it acquired the title of "The kidnapping car" from my then girlfriend.
I miss that car. The two of us made a lot of memories. A tree fell on it requiring a new windshield and repairing a crushed air intake, though somehow the hood survived. It got rear-ended while sitting stopped at a red light requiring a new trunk lid from the junkyard, so it upgraded to a two-tone red and white Civic. Near the end I had to replace the head gasket and then I had to take the head to a machine shop when I broke both a spark plug and the easy out that I inserted to free said broken spark plug. About a month after I fixed the head gasket, the engine seized and it was time for a "new" car. Another used Civic. But everything works on this one. It lacks the character of my first car. You cannot force it to develop one. Character is not built on a schedule. Friction is opportunity. Live with it. Give it meaning. I'm keeping the TV.