Yes, the pretty plates.

You know the ones – the ones someone gave you because they thought you’d enjoy them and they are so lovely you’re almost afraid to unwrap them, so you keep them in the box they came in. Or maybe they’re the one or two you bought because they were so impossibly cute or beautiful or funny that you could not resist. But you still keep them in a cupboard somewhere, apart from the everyday dishes. As if beauty or fun were not part of your daily life.

Or maybe it’s not even plates – maybe it’s a set of wine glasses, or a serving bowl, or a sweet little figurine of your favorite animal. Whatever it is – I bet you have something like this, seldom seen, though dearly loved in that wistful, I-shouldn’t-touch way. Yes, you should and you can.

Here’s my wish and challenge for you, dear reader: Use the pretty things. Treat yourself to the sight and touch and use of the treasures you “save” for honored guests you welcome to your home. Are you not honored and welcomed in your home? Give place to loveliness in your every day. Enjoy and savor – there is enough.

Stay tuned for more on the Here’s a Quarter blog next week! As always, your thoughts and comments are always welcome – they are moderated (I know – adulting again), so they may take a little while to appear, but I read them all and appreciate that you were here. Thank you!