Little Luxuries   

February 9, 2008 | Comments

We all have those small things in life that tell us “Everything is ok,” or “Life is under control.” For me, it’s a good mocha - or if I’m at home, it’s the luxury of sitting on the couch drinking a cup of coffee while it’s still hot. Or the ultimate luxury: baking fresh bread. It’s been a couple of years, at least, since I’ve been able to spend a day in the kitchen creating loaves of sourdough and potato-rosemary bread.

All these little things that speak to me, that tell me “Life is as it should be” are all based on two things: time and resources. Baking bread and drinking a hot cup of coffee take time, without the sense of guilt that I should be doing something else, something more productive. They also require resources (which implies planning). A hot cup of coffee requires a clean coffee cup, beans, and filters. Baking requires ingredients - sufficient flour, fresh yeast, live sourdough starter or fresh herbs.

Life - my life at least - is loud, messy, and often chaotic. I have a lot of balls in the air at any one time, and juggling them requires me to be at the top of my game pretty much all the time. Providing myself with the time and resources to indulge in those little luxuries is one way that I am able to provide everyone else with what they need.

Sure, I don’t get that hot cup of coffee every morning - this morning, for example, I woke up at 1:30am when my 3 year old had a bad dream and needed to sleep with Mama, then again at around 3am when my 4 year old joined us and my husband fled to the relative peace and quiet of the couch. At 5:30, I got tired of hushing my wide-awake 3 year old so he wouldn’t wake his brother and sent him downstairs to watch Baby Einstein videos with his Daddy. At 7am, my darling little insomniac threw a screaming fit just outside my bedroom door. Time to give up on getting any sleep at all! Needless to say, on the morning that I really needed a hot cup of coffee and 15 minutes of peace and quiet . . . winning the lottery was probably more likely.

Life is like that sometimes, and you have to roll with it. But I know that this evening, after the kids are asleep, I’ll spend an hour or so on my latest home organization project (more details about that little gem coming soon!). It’s work, but I know how much stress it will relieve, so I’m actually looking forward to it.

What are your little luxuries? The symbols in your life that tell you all is right with the world?