When Mom and I consolidated households, we had far too many of most items.  Some had to go– whether to storage or the donation bin or the trash.  In sorting through the piles, I was struck by how many things we both had an excess of.  She and I both had multiple sets of dishes and multiple sets of silverware.   In general these kinds of things were sorted into the good set and the everyday set.  And typically, we use the everyday set 360 days of the year and the good set perhaps just on a handful of holidays and special occasions.

When I looked at our silverware, it was clear to me that my most-likely-from-IKEA sets were heading to the donation pile at best, and that we should choose one of those belonging to Mom.  And then there was the question of which.  In assessing our choices, it did not take me long to settle on the good silverware.  So the good set became our everyday set.  And that has struck me as a good choice many times since.

Often in life, we go with the everyday rather than the special. And yet, these days, I find myself focused more on enjoying the best that we can, for the time that remains to enjoy it.

Given a year remaining of life, or of memory, why not bring out the good china? Every day is special once we recognize that a finite number remain.