Luxury
I like to think of myself as frugal, which is to say, I’m willing to spend money on certain important items. Hand cream is important … so are bubble baths.
Still the two most luxurious moments of my life were both free and simply the result of the thoughtfulness of others. The first came while I was in a hotel shower thinking murderous thoughts after a night of being kept both awake and captive by my parents sleeping in the next bed. My mother rapped on the bathroom door and while I was adding the indignity of sharing a bathroom to my list of complaints, she put a cup of hot, black coffee on the counter for me. Stepping out of the shower and being able to sip coffee while toweling off was totally luxurious.
Last night the dispatcher I was scheduled to relieve called to say she needed to leave early because she wasn’t feeling well. I wasn’t feeling particularly well either, but as I thought I would go in last night I opted to go ahead and do so early. I did manage to keep my coughing to one rather brutal fit this morning. I was dreading cleaning the snow off my car as I was sure the combination of the cold air and the exertion would bring on another such attack. A few minutes before I was scheduled to leave, a co-worker appeared in the dispatch area and asked if I had a spare key to my car. He told me he had already cleaned my car off for me and if I produced the spare key, he would go out and start it for me. Being able to walk out of the department and settle into a toasty warm vehicle for the drive home was also quite a luxury. Unbidden acts of kindness make life much more livable, just like expensive hand cream and ridiculously priced handmade soap.