| Monday, April 18, 2005 |
| Indulgences |
We all have them. Those seemingly critical items that you can't do without, but in reality, are simply a way of spoiling ourselves and making us happy. Some of them cost money, others are simply guilty pleasures to which we devote inordinate amounts of time and attention.
Some of my indulgences are costly, and I rationalize them based on the fact that I have a very demanding job that pays me relatively well. I have a housekeeper every couple of weeks, I spend WAY too much on my hair, and even more on good wine. I like to travel, and do so frequently. I eat out a lot because that tends to be how I socialize with my friends. I like to entertain and host dinner parties for the same reason, and that's not cheap either. I tend to overgift when it comes to friends and family - I love to spoil people because it makes me feel good to make others happy (yeah, yeah, I know - issues alert), and I will pay for convenience because I don't have the time to seek out the best bargain, or because I just procrastinated too long to get the best price.
Other indulgences are less costly: Cable TV, magazine and on-line subscriptions, The NYT, season tickets to various theater groups/ museums/ musical events/ charities / organizations. Yoga class, concert or sports tickets, favorite food indulgences at the grocery store (pot stickers!), and a toothpaste that I order from Europe, that I got hooked on during a relationship with someone in Vienna years ago (yeah - that one is stretching it, but until you've brushed your teeth with Elmex, you don't know what you're missing).
The free indulgences are mostly TV shows (I am a hopeless "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fan, along with any good "B" Horror Movie), walking in the neighborhood, and of course, blogs.
So, that's the intro to this evening's indulgence.
The weather in Baltimore has been gobsmackingly, utterly gorgeous for the last 5 days or so. The kind of weather that simply makes you smile and breathe deeply, no matter what's going on in your life.
I came home this evening and opened all the windows to enjoy the evening breeze while I made dinner. I have so many beautiful flowering trees around my house, and then I sat down to the evening ritual of opening the mail, catching the news, having a glass of wine, and returning phone calls and email.
The first thing I noticed was the smell. This beautiful, fragrant, flowery bouquet. One of my indulgences is fresh flowers. I always have a fresh bouquet or two around the house. Every week without fail. I usually put them together from the floral selection at Whole Foods. People that know me well, know this, which is why I have a bouquet of bright yellow Fuji Mums and purple Statice from Andrew last week which are still going strong. This week's bouquet is made up of Star Gazer Lillies, Bells of Ireland, and pink Statice. The Star Gazers were the culprit of the smell.
Oh. My. God.
So wonderful and intoxicating.
So..... go indulge yourself. Go buy some flowers - you'll feel better, trust me. |
posted by Broadsheet @ 8:21 PM   |
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