Treats!

Treats.  What would life be like without them?  I’ve had a number of treats already this year, and the most recent is about to end tonight. 

My definition of treats is those little or big things that take me out of my ordinary day-to-day routine and give me something new to do, to see, to hear or just plain make me feel good.  They are everything from my monthly pedicure to an unexpected getaway with one or some of my favourite people in the world.

This has already been a banner year for treats:  three concerts, regular visits to my aesthetician (just had a pedicure last night!), a week’s vacation with my husband in February, a quickly-arranged getaway with my two best Buds and, ending tonight, time alone at home while my husband is away at a conference. 

While I was rhyming off my list of recent treats, I realized that my favourites were the things I did on my own or with girlfriends.  This isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy the concerts or vacations with my husband – far from it, as a matter of fact.  I love spending time with him and he is one of my favourite people in the world.  He is, however, a part of my day-to-day life, and doing fun things with him doesn’t rank as high on the treat-o-metre.

I have found that treats become more numerous as I get older.  I no longer have a child at home, around whom I have to arrange my own schedule.  My husband is able to take care of himself and the dog.   I am more willing to be more selfish and say “this is what I want or need to do” instead of feeling like I’m taking something away from my family if I go away or spend money that might go to a family event or purchase.  I will say that it helps that I’m working full-time again; treats are no longer the same strain on the family budget that they once were.

What would my life be like without all these little goodies?  I’m sure I’d survive; millions of women do.  I do recognize that I am privileged to be in a position to take advantage of these opportunities as they come along, and I also recognize that I sometimes pout when I can’t – usually for financial reasons – take up an especially appealing opportunity.  Have I come to regard treats as the norm?  Something that should be there for me?  Doesn’t that make them … well … ordinary?

I don’t want treats to be ordinary.  I want to anticipate them, savour them and remember them with fondness when I’m back in the day-to-day of my life.  I want the right balance so that I never lose the enjoyment of my treats.