ON FAMILY ~ Daily Treasures...

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save anything for a special occasion. Today is special enough."

~ LESSON #21

I don't really understand the point of buying fancy things if you aren't going to use them. This is the reason I didn't register for china when we were getting married. First of all, we lived in a tiny apartment with only two cabinets so there wasn't exactly room to store or display it. Second, my husband's nickname is Bumble - and we've all heard the adage of the bull in the china shop. Third, it seemed strange to hoard dishes for special occasions. Didn't it make more sense to ask people to give us nice things we would and could actually use every day?

I guess I'm not really a fancy gal. I don't own a gazillion shoes or dresses to die for. I wear the same stuff in a pretty standard rotation that is probably pretty boring but it is a nice enough wardrobe that makes me feel good about myself when I wear it.

I do like pretty things around the house though. I enjoy lovely framed photos and art, well coordinated rugs and nicely styled furniture with character. Decorating rooms is something I consider fun to do and believe that those snazzy vases or collectibles should be out in the open to be appreciated every day - not tucked away as if you lived in a museum. Of course, having big dogs or little children traipsing around can make that goal adjustable, but perching pretty things out of harms way is always an option.

I don't have a lot of bling either. But if I did, I think that I'd wear it all the time rather than keeping it in a jewelry box. I do have two pins that I retrieved from my grandmother's costume jewelry box after she died. One of them is a big, blue glittery looking flower that I keep propped up on my dresser to look at every morning when I get dressed. I always wonder where I could wear a gaudy, bedazzled pin like that. What kind of outfit would that go with in my boring wardrobe? Perhaps a wedding or some other event requiring me to put on an actual dress.

But if I lived each day as a special one, I would stick that pin on my t-shirt on the weekends, on my blouse at the office, on my coat in the winter. I would attach it to my purse if it truly didn't match the outfit du jour. Because it is a special pin to me, and it deserves to be displayed. Not hidden at home. My grandmother was a special lady who didn't wait for a special day to enjoy the finer things in her life. I think wearing her pin every day would be a good testament to her spirit.