SECOND BEST IS USUALLY FIRST

I certainly do it. All of the people that I know do it. Probably most people do it. Why do we do it? What is it that makes us buy beautiful things and put them away for “best”.

I buy lovely towels but keep them until someone special is going to visit. My china cabinet has dishes that are kept for “special occasions”, my wardrobe has nice things that only make an appearance once or twice a year and I have one good necklace that I never wear, in case I lose it.

What is this need to keep things for best? When I was a child I got a new dress for Easter, when we all wore something new to church. This dress would then be put away and worn maybe four times before I grew out of it then it would be passed on to the nearest girl cousin. School uniforms were the regular weekday wear, play clothes were for after school and weekends, Sundays was always a ‘good’ dress that was changed, immediately after church and, very rarely, the new dress came out of the closet.

When my best dress was handed down to my cousin, she would wear it any time of year and got to enjoy it much more than I had, it didn’t seem fair. However, this way of doing things became my way of life and, although I think it is silly, I cannot stop myself from continuing with this pattern.

We used to have three sets of dishes, everyday dishes, nice dishes and good dishes. My husband once asked me if we were going to entertain the queen and that is why the good dishes never came out. I agreed I was being silly and stopped having three sets. I now just have everyday dishes and good ones that spend most of their life in a cupboard.

One time when my kids were very small, we were having guests over for Sunday dinner. I cleaned the house, polished the bathroom fixtures till they shone and hung the good towels. It was only after the guests left that I saw that my note to “not use these towels”, that I had put on the towels, to keep the kids off them prior to the guests coming, was still in place. I had left a grubby hand towel out, which was supposed to be whisked away, and the note removed, upon the guests’ arrival. The guests had followed my instructions and kept the good towels pristine.

I love to look round stores that have pretty items but hardly ever buy myself anything. I will buy pretty things for gifts for other people, but somehow, it seems too extravagant to buy it for myself. What is this thing about not using nice things? It really is a strange habit, does it mean I don’t think I’m worth it or is it just a practicality issue?

My husband very rarely buys me flowers, not because he is mean or thoughtless but because I have always enjoyed flowers growing outdoors and they seem to die so much faster when cut and put in a vase. However, this past winter I have indulged in a bunch of brightly coloured blooms every week and thoroughly enjoyed them the entire week. The extra fifteen or twenty dollars added to my grocery bill is not such a lot when I think how much pleasure I get from the flowers that brighten up my home.

When skies are grey $15 is a very small price to pay for a taste of summer and, after all, I am worth it!