Last week when I did the biweekly grocery shopping event (and with several teenagers at home it is a major event) I decided what my family really needed was a splurge. We’d been rushing around doing choir concerts, ASL learning events, conferences, and job interviews and it felt like we’d been working at a breakneck speed for months.
So I bought the good steak. And some Martinelli’s. And some Brussels Sprouts. And lots of mushrooms.
Okay… I realize there are some of you questioning whether this counts as a splurge, but for us a splurge is investing a lot of time in a meal. Most of what we cook is, yes, made from scratch, but it can be whipped up in 30-45 minutes. I can make a good stirfry in under 20 minutes. Tacos take 15 minutes if you know what you’re doing. Taking time to grill feels extravagant right now.
I also realize my kids fighting over Brussels sprouts might sound weird. And I admit my kids’ have some warped views of food. To start with, both my husband and I are very good cooks. We’re raising our kids to cook, so the older two can make just about anything you want and make it restaurant-quality or better. My 9yo can make a decent breakfast and some small things. The 6yo? Well… she’s a good eater who thinks the only food that might be okay from a box in cereal.
We took our time, made dinner, tried a new mushroom recipe (whole mushrooms sauteed with onions, garlic, parsley, and thyme… it was amazing!), and sat down to a leisurely dinner.
It was nice to not rush. To have no alarms or homework to worry about. It was nice to congratulate ourselves on surviving October. And that’s really all we were celebrating. We survived a tough, busy, emotionally draining month filled with upsets and disasters.
There weren’t any promotions or big announcements.
There wasn’t a victory to cheer about.
We were celebrating surviving the tough stuff.
Sometimes that’s what you need to do.
I don’t know when the next piece of Good News is going to arrive. It could be tomorrow, it could be next year, it might be the year after that.
I do know that waiting for the big wins means treading water in life when what we really need is to enjoy today. That means celebrating the little things instead if waiting to break out the bubbly only for the Big Deals. It means realizing that another day of being alive is something to celebrate, and not just call it a win if we get ahead somehow.
So… take a deep breath, release the tension from your shoulders, and smile. You’re doing a great job. You are worth celebrating.