I am still behind in my reading...that pink elephant...she was a major distraction...however...the pink elephant has decided to go home for awhile. She packed up her stuff and flew away home. Oh yes. In the original folk tales, elephants could fly. Isn't that an amazing thought?
Treats.
Treats is sort of difficult and sort of simple for me. When I have to think about 'treats', I balk. I've done so much for "me" lately--the new jeans...the new killer shoes...blah blah blah....but those aren't the treats I want or need...
Sure, where the clothes are concerned I am replacing outdated, worn out, unnecessary things...but that's not really a treat. Fine. Five inch stilettos are a REAL TREAT for me...wearing them is an even bigger treat...the look on R's face when I pull off some spectacular outfit in those heels is absolutely priceless...so, yeah, treat.
But on a daily basis? Three treats a day? When I stopped over-thinking things, I discovered what I already should have known. I have these things built in to my life already.
What's a treat?
Talking that first call in the morning, hanging up, rolling back over into my nice warm bed and going back to sleep for an hour or so.
What's a treat?
Boiling the water and making that first little pot of tea in my ugly old orange tea pot. I bought this lovely big white tea pot from Ikea and it's too big to use without a cozy right now. And I have too many other things on my knitterly plate to knit a cozy for it...so I am sticking with my little orange pot...
The cups I choose to use when I drink my hot tea, that's a treat. My 'let go let god' cup that I got as a tip for good work doing Reiki sessions at a retreat eons ago. A hand-made cup I found for a quarter at a thrift store...my little owl cups that R's x and I both got at a different thrift store, also a quarter each (we divided a set between us because we both liked them)...my Archer cup (another thrift store find)...my 'grace' cup (thrift store, you bet), my square black cups with the crackled turquoise blue ombre insides (target these--on clearance)....
What's a treat?
Stopping for no real reason and inhaling and exhaling, deeply and purposefully, while stretching head to toe, arms overhead into head to knee pose and out again...
What's a treat?
Painting my finger nails and my toe nails.
What's a treat?
The ultra-moisturizing shampoo and conditioner I splurged on for my uber-dry and fuzzy curly 'fro...
What's a treat?
Watching the dog roll all over the bed and bark at herself and then going over to rub her goofy butt until her tongue lolls out and she is doing nothing but grinning.
What's a treat?
Reading a story to E, who is normally a spell-bound audience when I do so.
In fact, I love having deep talks with her lately. She is just full of interesting stuff. With the elephant situation, she and I ended up discussing pregnancy the other day. She didn't ask about the things I thought she would: would R and I be getting married, would we be moving in together, would we still be getting that 70s house (ok, so that's the house's nickname at the moment) ...no, ever Miss Practical, E asked me about being pregnant, how it feels, where it hurts and when and how bad, if I'd be in the hospital with her when she gives birth when she gets pregnant when she is older (much older), the difference in my experiences between hospital birth and home birth (I will never go to a hospital again unless forced for the health of the child) and how she has to make that choice herself when she's older...
What's a treat?
Picking on the bird--trust me--it's funny.
Picking on the girl ranks right up there too--especially if she's in a good mood and picks back.
What's a treat?
The sound of my children giggling and laughing...no matter what the cause.
That truly honestly is the very best candy for me. Nothing else tops that.
What's a treat?
Ok...picking on R ranks up there too--and he always picks back.
But there is nothing better than looking into his eyes and seeing what is reflected in there, the depth of his love for me...swirling between the sea of blue and that gold ring of his...
What's a treat?
Flowers in bloom. Or in my case right now, my four leaf clover still growing like madness since I moved it back into the house.
What's a treat?
A very long, very hot, very soapy (scented soap bought special for me that no one else can use :-) mostly because she can't reach it :-) ) shower, when everyone else is in bed, no one interrupting, no one noticing and no one opening and closing the door to let all the hot steamy air out so that it seems as if I wander through a clear white languid fog...where both brain and body unwind...
What's a treat?
Burning incense on my personal altar...the smell of that incense infusing the entire house....
What's a treat?
There are so many more left unnamed here....
Every day, my days are full of treats, small, large, meaningless to anyone but me. But they are there and I love every minute of them...
See what treats others have given themselves here...
