There’s a little table that sits in between my favorite chair and Scott’s favorite chair. Almost every night, we curl up in our chairs to sip tea, read, or watch TV.
One night, earlier this year, I was scanning the room and something caught my eye. We have a really nice table that’s shoved over in the corner where it never gets used. Meanwhile, an old, beaten up, not-particularly-attractive table (that Scott purchased from a big screen TV store –ICK) sits in between our two chairs. Nice table: ignored. Unattractive table: daily usage.
What’s up with that?
I said to Scott, “Let’s switch them around. Let’s put the nice table in between the chairs. That way, we can actually see it and use it. It’s so much prettier.”
Scott replied with, “No, we can’t put the nice table there! It might get scuffed up. Or it might get water stains from our cups.”
(At this point, I reminded Scott that HE is the person who refuses to use coasters for his drinks, hence the water stains, but AHEM, hmm… that is a topic for another blog post!)
The debate continued. Scott eventually agreed with me (#victory), and we moved the nice table in between the two chairs. It looks gorgeous and it has totally “upgraded” the atmosphere in the room. Every time I see it there, it makes me so happy. It’s like wearing one of my favorite outfits instead of wearing yesterday’s sweat-stained yoga pants. A vast improvement.
The moral (or rather, question) of the story is…
Why do we always save the “nice things” until “someday later”?
Why are we always saving the fancy wine, the good china, or the nice table for some mysterious date in the future?
It’s a ridiculous way to live, because every day that you’re ALIVE is a celebration. Just ask my brother-in-law, who suffered a stroke and was told he had 100 days to live. (The doctors were wrong, thank God, but talk about a wake-up call!)
Are you breathing? Check. Is your heart beating? Check. Then you’ve got two GREAT reasons to bust out the fancy wine, the good china, or use the nicest table in the house. What are you waiting for? A visit from the Queen of England? Honey, she ain’t coming over for tea anytime soon, so stop waiting! Every single day is the perfect day to look and feel your best, and to experience as much pleasure as you can.
Right now, my favorite tea cup is full of my favorite Fortnum & Mason tea, and it’s resting on the prettiest table in the house. On a damn pretty coaster. That’s exactly where it belongs.
My china isn’t collecting dust, and I hope yours isn’t either. Break out the good stuff. Every moment that you possibly can.
Time is so fleeting and precious. Make every day feel delicious.
PS. If you haven’t read The Year of Living Danishly, put it on your winter reading list! Such a wonderful book about Danish people, their homes, their lifestyle, and why they’re some of the happiest people on earth. (Spoiler alert: it’s partly because they use the “good china” and the “nice table” every day.)
