I believe in stockpiling. I really do, but what happens when saving something for someday means that you never get to enjoy it?
Erma Bombeck was a well-known humor writer who succumbed to illness. When she found out she was dying, she wrote a poem called “If I Had My Life to Live Over.” One of the lines of the poem was “I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.” Isn’t it so true? How many of us save stuff for someday?
Someday comes in many forms: someday when there is scarcity I’ll use it. Someday when I have somewhere to go, I’ll wear it. Someday when the time is right, I’ll enjoy it. Someday.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because of three instances. The first is a bunch of my mother’s clothes. Although my mother has been gone for ten years now, my father held on to some things because he wasn’t sure what to do with them. The clothes were all new with tags on them. She lovingly turned them all inside out and placed them in garment bags to keep them nice. She was saving them for someday. She never got to wear them.
The second was a beautiful candle that a friend brought to Bible study this week. It was the kind of candle that I would feel guilty burning, and it brought to mind Bombeck’s words.
The third was my de-cluttering of our crawl space. During renovations a couple of years ago, a number of things got thrown in a box and placed there. I finally came across the box and investigated. The box included a pampering gift set, complete with special soaps and shampoo bars. After so much time in the damp crawl space, they were ruined and had to be tossed out.
So, let me make a suggestion for today. Use up what you love. Take a photo of that special candle if you must, but please go ahead and light it and make some memories of it.
Below is Ms. Bombeck’s poem in its entirety.
If I Had My Life To Live Over
by Erma Bombeck
If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television – and more while watching life.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, “Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.”
There would have been more “I love you’s”.. More “I’m sorrys” …
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute… look at it and really see it … live it…and never give it back.
© Erma Bombeck