After our first granddaughter reached toddler stage, my wife made it her mission in life to regularly visit multiple Goodwill stores in our area to find nice dresses for her to wear. And she did… lots of them! Her wardrobe, in fact, contained enough dresses that our daughter elected to let her pick out one each day to enjoy, rather than wait for that “special occasion.” The irony of it all was that the many lovely dresses my wife found were new and unworn, with their original store tags intact. Hmmmm….
One day, our daughter got a call from her child’s preschool teacher advising her that the class would be painting today but wasn’t sure that her daughter should participate since she appeared to be dressed for “something special” after school. Our daughter replied, “Thank you for letting me know, but she can absolutely paint! She loves to dress up and makes every day a special occasion.”
I’m reminded of when I was an eight-year-old, and watched my mother lovingly place dishes in the buffet cabinet of our dining room following Thanksgiving dinner. I asked Mom why we only used those dishes for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mom replied that those dishes were our “good stuff” and should only be used for special occasions. When I asked her why, she could only reply with astonishment, “What do you think would happen if you were to break one of these plates?” In truth, my young mind couldn’t fathom the answer, but I was certain that it had to be something terrible.
Our granddaughter has long since grown out of the lovely dresses my wife found for her through the years. Some have worn out and been discarded, some have been “returned” to Goodwill, but a few special ones have been saved. Recently our daughter gave those remaining “special dresses” to her pediatrician for her daughter to wear. Predictably, she was most appreciative and asked our daughter when she thought one particularly lovely dress should be worn. Our daughter’s response? “Wear it on a Tuesday….”
It’s human nature to save special things for special moments, but how often do we wait so long for that moment to occur, that the moment simply passes us by? Go ahead, use that gift card for your family and stop waiting for company to finally arrange a visit. And that park pass? It won’t be good forever! Have fun! Life is a journey, not a destination. Stop waiting for those all-important “special occasions” in life to do something special. Every day is special. Start living like it.
“Our futures and memories are created in all of our now moments”
Bryan Dodge
