It was the end of a stressful work day, and I was in work clothes: dress, lifted shoes, blazer. I had meetings in the community, so I drove. Since my sweet beast succumbed its career-ending injury, I’m now driving a hybrid vehicle manufactured in this decade. It has a lot of features that were unreachable by my budget in 2014. If the key fob is outside of the faraday case I keep it in, all I have to do is touch the door for it to unlock. And that’s what I did. I walked to the car, opened the door, and flopped into the seat. Without an additional effort from me, the seat adjusted itself to my preferred settings. It felt really nice.

When I wake in the morning on work days, there’s always coffee ready for me. I pour it into my favorite mug and lift it to my lips, bitter warmth greeting me and providing me comfort. This is because I set my trusty Black and Decker drip machine, which I acquired from Seattle’s FreeCycle in 2010, the night before. It has one fancy feature: a timer. On days off, I’ll take the time to boil water and use my aeropress or pour-over carafe. But for work? It’s there for me.

When I walk to the grocery store in my neighborhood, the doors always open when I arrive. When I lift my phone, the screen turns on. There is an elevator that lifts me to the double-digit floor in the office building I work in. The furnace in my house responds to the temperature. If I ask it to, my car will lay out a map of where I need to go.

I was telling my son the other day, as we both sat comfortably, that some struggle is necessary to stay in shape. We need to be persistently thinking through puzzles to keep our mind sharp. Our muscles will only reflect the heaviness they are routinely subjected to. And so forth. I pointed out some of the ways I regularly make my life inconvenient for the sake of my body – walking to the grocery store, biking to work, using the watering cans with the rain barrels instead of a hose.

At the same time, there are some gestures, when done by people, leave me feeling genuinely cared for. Let me get this door for you. Here’s a cup of coffee. Let me adjust this for your comfort.

A machine is doing it.

I feel cared for all the same.