On Running Away and Little Treats

Do you ever want to run away? Not in a life-altering, leave everything behind and start over in a new country kind of way (though, hmmm, you could talk me into it) but in a “the world is too much with us; late and soon” kind of way. You start being driven crazy by your family who are doing nothing particularly wrong. You get grumpier and grumpier. You decide no one loves you and you love no one and if you don’t get out of the house soon you are going to push someone off the balcony. Unfortunately, while a murder charge will provide you with a peaceful, quiet cell, that is probably not the way to go about achieving said peace and quiet. So you run away.

I ran away a few weeks ago and I highly, highly recommend it. My daughter needed a ride to work and I informed everyone that I would be dropping her off, but I would not be returning home until it was time to pick her up five hours later. It was not up for discussion. I was leaving and no one could ask anything of me. Five whole hours to myself. I was practically giddy with excitement.

What did I do with my five hours? There weren’t a lot of options because it was evening and it was frigidly cold out. I was fine with that though. I went thrift shopping, which I love at any time. But this time I meandered. I looked at every rack. I went to two different stores. I tried on five million different things. I bought a few things but that wasn’t the point. The point was taking time for myself. After that, I went to a cafe, ordered soup and chai, and read my book for a whole hour. And then I picked up my daughter, returned home, and did not kill anyone.

While running away is glorious and highly recommended, sometimes you simply do not have the time or energy. In that case, can I convince you to buy yourself a little treat? There are a few parameters for this little treat. It must be very affordable. It must not be necessary. It must inspire joy and whimsy in your heart. You must be able to acquire it relatively quickly. In the photo above, you can see a few of the little treats I have purchased recently. Obviously, I needed a Richard Scarry t-shirt that refers to little treats. How much more on-brand can you get? Socks with foxes? Of course. And a pack of purple pens. I have a years-long addiction to purple pens. The origin of this addiction is lost in the mists of time as are many of the purple pens so I was particularly thrilled with this purchase. I love that they all write in different shades of purple. All of these are quite small purchases but they bring joy to my heart.

So, run away if you can. If that isn’t possible, buy yourself a little treat. We all need joy and whimsy to survive these days.