A hot bath at the end of the day is essential around here, and we were tired of scrunching our bodies into the tiny tub that came with the house. Soooo… we changed it but now regret going so whole hog. The idea of a giant sized, six-foot oval surrounded with beautiful aqua glass tile — swimming in tropical waters every night — sounded fabulous at the time. Oh, the romance of it all. Two years later, we’re tired of upkeep and paying the price for mentally living in lala land. Sure, the soak is glorious, but cleaning it is a bitch and the amount of water it takes is criminal. (OK, I’m not the one who cleans it.)I have much experience in biting off too much, but it’s my lifetime of “mistakes” that give me the wisdom to now think BEFORE acquiring anything new or automatically agreeing to an activity. Saying “yes” seems so easy and appealing, but the time it takes and the inconvenience it produces sometimes ends up just adding more anxiety to my life.
Even this non-kitchen person is vulnerable to all those cool gadgets. But lots of them have to be taken apart to wash, then reassembled, then stored. Fancy choppers, slicers, mixers, expensive cookware, blenders, etc etc etc. Just give me an old fashioned grater, cast iron skillet, and a great knife any day. The best kitchen decision I ever made was getting rid of “company” dishes. I now have only lightweight Corelle in assorted patterns, which cleans up beautifully. You can’t break this stuff if you try, so you don’t have to be careful when you load and unload the dishwasher. As a guest for dinner in a friends’ homes, I’ve never cared what my food was presented on. I come to see them, not their dishes.
Acquiring is always about more than just “I love it. I want it.” There’s the where to keep it, who’s going to clean it, the worry about it getting damaged. Do you really want to keep worrying about your beautiful hardwood floor getting scratched from the dirt stuck to your guest’s shoes? (I’m just sayin’……) Buying a boat seems like good times ahead, but the maintenance, expense, storage and, ahem, barnacle removal that salt waters require gets old pretty fast. You can tell we’ve had a boat, right? Oh, what a cute doggie often turns into a fight over who’s going to be the chief pooper scooper, along with vet bills, grooming and barking maintenance. The lure of a beautiful garden keeps nurseries flourishing, but plopping plants into every bit of free dirt space means extra watering, weeding and feeding. Pausing seems prudent…..
Filling our lives with the things and activities that we love is essential, but many of these things come at a price. Lots of stress can be avoided if you hold back a minute before you buy or agree to anything. I’ve discovered that the desire to acquire often disappears when I’m not facing the objective of my affection, even 5 minutes later. And “Can I let you know tomorrow?” covers anything you want to think about first. Experience has taught me that: machines break, knickknacks attract dust, expensive clothes can’t go in the washing machine, and you won’t get arrested if you back out of a commitment that isn’t a good fit after all.