09/09/2026
I was cleaning out a few things in my bathroom and came across a bottle of nice perfume.
It was one of those bottles I had intentionally put away because it was “too nice” to use every day.
I was saving it.
For what, exactly, I’m not sure.
A special occasion? A better time? Someday?
I opened it, and it had gone bad.
So there I stood, throwing away a beautiful bottle of perfume that I had liked so much that I barely let myself use it.
And I thought, what a waste.
Not just of the perfume.
How many things do we do that with?
We save the good dishes. We keep the nice outfit hanging in the closet. We put off the trip. We say we’ll invite everyone over when the house looks better. We’ll take the picture when we lose the weight. We’ll slow down when work settles down. We’ll spend more time with our parents, our children, our spouse, our friends…when life isn’t quite so busy.
We are always waiting for this mythical “better time.”
But this is our life.
Right now, today, we are as young as we will ever be again. And for most of us, we’re probably healthier and more capable today than we will be years from now.
There will always be laundry. There will always be something that needs cleaning. There will always be another email to answer and another thing on the list.
But the people we love won’t always be sitting around the table.
Our children won’t always be this age.
Our parents won’t always be here.
And neither will we.
So use the perfume.
Wear the good dress on a Tuesday. Take the trip. Sit on the porch a little longer. Go to dinner. Call your parents. Play with the dog. Let the house be imperfect sometimes.
Stop saving your life for later.
I wish I had used every last drop of that perfume.
Just between us,
Jennifer 💜
