Do Something For Yourself

As those of you who read my blogs on a regular basis know, we have recently moved. Moving is such a drudgery; that’s why we’ve proclaimed this move our last.

One of the things a move makes you do, however, is to go through all your “stuff”. It’s amazing how much a person accumulates over the years and for some reason feel they need to drag it along with them, even though they have no intention of ever using it again.

A move also makes us realize we have things we have put away for “guests”. You know what I’m talking about. We have guest towels, guest linens, guest everything. Here’s the kicker….we rarely have guests. We also have boxes and boxes of china that we never use. We have the china we got for our wedding 45 years ago. We have special Christmas china, even though we have rarely ever eaten at home on Christmas. We have china that a great aunt left us. We have imported crystal that has never been used since I’ve been alive.

The point I’m trying to make is why are we saving things for special occasions? Why don’t we just enjoy using them while we still can before we pass them down to the next generation?

My mother used to tell me a story about when she was a little girl, they rarely had dessert, but one day they were all treated to an ice cream sundae. Hers had whipped cream and a maraschino cherry on top. She always loved maraschino cherries, so she saved it until last, eating all the ice cream and toppings first. Just as she was about to eat the cherry, her brother reached over, grabbed it by the stem, popped it into his mouth and the cherry was gone. When she asked why he did that, he said he didn’t think she wanted it because she set it aside while eating everything else. That taught her that you should enjoy the things you want most first.

Let me put another spin on that thought. For those of us with Myasthenia Gravis, we don’t really know what the future holds for us. We know it’s a progressive disease and we may have already seen some progression in ourselves. On top of that, a myasthenic crisis could shorten our life. We don’t want to dwell on that, but we also have to face the fact that it could possibly happen. That means we need to start enjoying life….today.

Are there things you’ve always wanted to do? Then do them. There’s no better time than now. Is there beautiful china setting in your closet? Then use it. Imagine how unfulfilled you’d feel if you were a dinner plate and no one ever used you for dinner? I know, that may be a little far-fetched, but even the misfit toys in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer were sad because no one would play with them.

Have you always wanted to take a trip? Do it. As long as you have the resources and enough health to make it happen, do it now while the stars are all aligned. Do you enjoy a glass of wine with dinner? Then have one (as long as your doctor allows). Do you enjoy a nice juicy steak? Then eat one. Of course, there’s moderation in everything, but too often we deprive ourselves of doing things we enjoy for no good reason other than “saving it for a rainy day”. Don’t be the guy who has an umbrella but continues to get wet walking in the rain because he’s saving the umbrella for a special occasion. Go do the things you want to do today. Enjoy and embrace what you want most out of life.

Saving things is fine, but if it means you’re missing out on doing something you enjoy, is it really the smart thing to do? You read stories all the time about especially frugal people who live like paupers until they die and leave millions to charity. That’s nice that charity got rewarded, but did that person really enjoy their life to the fullest? Probably not. And here’s the sad thing, many charities spend your money on things of which you would never approve. CNN once reported that only 3 cents of every dollar contributed to Kids Wish Network ever reached the kids. The rest was spent on administrative expenses.

I’m challenging you today to do something you’ve always wanted to do. I’m challenging you to utilize those plush guest towels. I’m challenging you to do something for yourself. Myasthenia Gravis can be tough. You deserve a win once in a while. I’m not saying burn through your savings or extend yourself further than you should; I’m saying quit thinking your guests (who may or may not ever come) deserve a plushier towel than you.