Musing about treats
After talking to jendaby and deltagrl this weekend about how people deserve to treat themselves sometimes, I got to thinking. When was the last time I treated myself to anything? When was the last time I actively went out and did something new purely for fun? When was the last time I bought something purely for fun?
I honestly don’t know. I can’t think of anything. Which makes me realize my life must be pretty boring, or perhaps it’s just that I am boring.
During the week I get up, go to work, come home, hang out with jendaby and the kids, have dinner, give our daughter dessert and then get her ready for bed. Most nights after that I check my email and then write. Some nights I read or watch a movie, usually if jendaby needs to do her work. Once a week our friends come over to game. Once a week (though we missed a week or two) deltagrl and justcomeinalone come over for dinner and a movie. Sometimes deltagrl comes over to just hang out.
On the weekends I sleep as late as our daughter will let me (usually between eight and nine), get up, we all wash up and get dressed and go downstairs, and then we spend the day together. I check email and write a bit in the afternoon when our son is taking a nap and our daughter is watching a DVD. Sometimes I putter with house stuff. Sometimes we go grocery shopping or to HomeDepot, or both. The nights are basically the same as during the week.
So really, outside of work and watching the kids, what do I do with myself? Go online, write, read, watch movies, game, do minor home repairs. That’s about it.
Jendaby and I are hoping to go out more once we get used to our new schedules: our daughter going to preschool, our son going to bed when our daughter does each night, and jendaby’s new freelance work. That will be nice. We can go to dinner, go to a movie, etc.
But that’s the two of us. What do I do for myself? And what do I ever buy?
I stopped buying comic books a while back—too expensive to justify for such brief entertainment and half the time I’d go weeks before getting around to reading them. I don’t buy books—I already have a stack I haven’t read yet, and the few books I do still specifically want are on my wish list for birthdays and holidays. Same with DVDs—I never buy them myself but I often get them as presents. I buy new clothes only when I need them. I buy lunch during the week, but that’s a necessity—not buying it but certainly having lunch. I’m not a big music person, and what CDs I do listen to are mostly from friends or belong to jendaby. I have a slew of action figures but they were all either presents or thrift store/garage sale finds and they already cover the back desk in my office.
The last thing I clearly remember buying for myself that I knew I didn’t need but wanted anyway was a sword. And that was at I-Con two or possibly three years ago.
So, a question to anyone reading, which can be taken both generally and specifically: What should I do to treat myself? In general, what do other people do to treat themselves? And in specific, is there anything you think I should do or get for myself? Because I really can’t think of anything.
If this all sounds like a complaint, it’s not. I’m not whinging about my life. I have a good life, filled with love and laughter. I love getting to spend time with my family and with my friends. I am content enough with my job and happy to be writing. I just wonder if I should be treating myself in some way, and if so what that is. When we were in Chicago, for example paintersam and I got a bunch of different local root beers to try, because we both like good root beer. That was definitely a treat, and though jendaby did try them later it was really for paintersam and I. So it doesn’t have to be anything big. It just has to be something that’s for me.
I honestly don’t know. I can’t think of anything. Which makes me realize my life must be pretty boring, or perhaps it’s just that I am boring.
During the week I get up, go to work, come home, hang out with jendaby and the kids, have dinner, give our daughter dessert and then get her ready for bed. Most nights after that I check my email and then write. Some nights I read or watch a movie, usually if jendaby needs to do her work. Once a week our friends come over to game. Once a week (though we missed a week or two) deltagrl and justcomeinalone come over for dinner and a movie. Sometimes deltagrl comes over to just hang out.
On the weekends I sleep as late as our daughter will let me (usually between eight and nine), get up, we all wash up and get dressed and go downstairs, and then we spend the day together. I check email and write a bit in the afternoon when our son is taking a nap and our daughter is watching a DVD. Sometimes I putter with house stuff. Sometimes we go grocery shopping or to HomeDepot, or both. The nights are basically the same as during the week.
So really, outside of work and watching the kids, what do I do with myself? Go online, write, read, watch movies, game, do minor home repairs. That’s about it.
Jendaby and I are hoping to go out more once we get used to our new schedules: our daughter going to preschool, our son going to bed when our daughter does each night, and jendaby’s new freelance work. That will be nice. We can go to dinner, go to a movie, etc.
But that’s the two of us. What do I do for myself? And what do I ever buy?
I stopped buying comic books a while back—too expensive to justify for such brief entertainment and half the time I’d go weeks before getting around to reading them. I don’t buy books—I already have a stack I haven’t read yet, and the few books I do still specifically want are on my wish list for birthdays and holidays. Same with DVDs—I never buy them myself but I often get them as presents. I buy new clothes only when I need them. I buy lunch during the week, but that’s a necessity—not buying it but certainly having lunch. I’m not a big music person, and what CDs I do listen to are mostly from friends or belong to jendaby. I have a slew of action figures but they were all either presents or thrift store/garage sale finds and they already cover the back desk in my office.
The last thing I clearly remember buying for myself that I knew I didn’t need but wanted anyway was a sword. And that was at I-Con two or possibly three years ago.
So, a question to anyone reading, which can be taken both generally and specifically: What should I do to treat myself? In general, what do other people do to treat themselves? And in specific, is there anything you think I should do or get for myself? Because I really can’t think of anything.
If this all sounds like a complaint, it’s not. I’m not whinging about my life. I have a good life, filled with love and laughter. I love getting to spend time with my family and with my friends. I am content enough with my job and happy to be writing. I just wonder if I should be treating myself in some way, and if so what that is. When we were in Chicago, for example paintersam and I got a bunch of different local root beers to try, because we both like good root beer. That was definitely a treat, and though jendaby did try them later it was really for paintersam and I. So it doesn’t have to be anything big. It just has to be something that’s for me.
posted by Gryphon Rose @ 6:38 AM
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