life necessities

Essential things* in life:

• running shoes
• dark chocolate
• journal
• pens from Muji {to write in said essential journal}
• French press coffee
• Oreos
• full bookshelf {preferably full of books, not just knick-knacks}

Life necessities.  It helps to have little things you consider to be necessities—because then you can get all joyful giddy every time you have, say, coffee or chocolate.  Even routine parts of your day will be something to smile about.

If you put things on your list like, I don't know, a Prada dress, you probably won't get to have this daily perk of "Ooh!  Something I enjoy, here in the middle of my humdrum day!"  Unless, of course, you lead a very different life from me.

My life involves stuff like Monday evening trips to Target where I get sucked into the school supplies section.  I quickly backed out of there, though, because...well, screaming children.  That is all I will say.  And they weren't screaming in excitement about how amazing it will be to fill their notebook with math problems and answers.

Target provided me with one of my life necessities last night:  Oreos.  They were only $2.50, an excellent price for Oreos, trust me.  I keep an eye out for good Oreo prices.  Other people watch milk prices; I watch the Oreos.

I may love them, and they may bring me joy, but I don't like paying $5.00 for them.  I am too practical for that.

$2.50, though, is acceptable, and the first thing I did when I got home was eat three Oreos.  Okay, five.  Fine.  Seven.

But I also drank a big glass of milk as I thought, 'Ooh!  Something I enjoy, right here at the end of a normal Monday!'


* Yes, just things.  I put in this asterisk note so that people wouldn't freak out about how I didn't include stuff like family on here.  I mean, would you really want me to refer to my family as just things?  That seems awfully mean of me.  I didn't include faith, either, so unless you've read this asterisked note, I look like a person who hates God and people...but who really, really likes things, which is an unfortunate characterization of me.  I do like people.  And God {oh, maybe I should go back to my list and add that the Bible should be on my full bookshelf; then you'd know I like God, right?}.  And I like things**, yes, my little life necessities.

** I tried to just write the first few life necessities that came to mind, although this list could've gone on forever.  It's a fun exercise, this little work of thinking of the little things that make you happy.  I'm not saying these things keep me happy, or that I rely on thing for my happiness.  I'm just saying that you should try thinking of your little life necessities, the things that can brighten your day, no matter how gray of a day it is.

Oh  my gosh, now I sound like I'm doling out "life happiness" advice.  I'm not.  Really.  I'm just giving a suggestion of something fun to do, particularly if you like making lists.  Oh, why didn't I put "lists" on my list?