Our Program Director, Gail Hamm, reflects on Regina’s life lesson #21: Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

“Those who know me, will find it ironic that I chose this statement to write about this morning. I’m a saver. I rarely throw anything away that I think I might need later. My colleagues laugh, but on more than one occasion, I have retrieved important emails from my archives to assist their efforts.

I knew I was a saver as a small child, when I received a craft project for Christmas and wouldn’t ‘use it up’. As I grew older, I watched others who were savers. When my paternal grandmother died, her closet contained a fair number of dresses with the tags still on them. What a shame she never wore them. I made the decision that I’d start ‘using up’ my possessions. I used up my wedding china and later sets of dishes. I used up candles. There are no nice sheets waiting to be used, nor fancy lingerie, either.

Special occasions happen each day that I am alive, and there is great pleasure in being able to ‘use up’ possessions today. The art paper so carefully stored away can create an even more beautiful object by being used, rather than just lying in the drawer. So burn those candles, use the nice sheets and wear the fancy lingerie! Don’t save them for special occasions. Today is special!”