FRESH THYME
The Bread Box
by Marcy Lytle
I bought a bread box recently. When it arrived, it was way bigger than I expected, as I never bothered to look at the measurements before I ordered. But here it was, white and huge, and oh so cool with its two shelves and cool pull-open windows.
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Did I need a bread box? Oh, of course I didn’t. I’d been placing our muffins and bagels and breads in a domed glass cake stand on the counter, and it worked just fine. But I’d always wanted a bread box. Something about the idea of a bread box made me want to make bread, be nostalgic, and know that I had bread available all the time for us…and those that visit.
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So here this bread box arrived, I opened it and immediately found a spot where it (to my surprise) fit exactly – right next to my Cuisinart popcorn maker. We bought that machine a few months ago and have absolutely loved it. Did we need that? No, we didn’t. We could make microwave popcorn, make popcorn in a pan on the stove, or buy it at the movies. But one day we were out shopping, we saw this cute nostalgic machine on sale, it was the right color and size, and we bought it…on a whim. No looking back.
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Now, both of these items sit side by side on a little cart in my kitchen and they make me happy every time I enter the room in the morning, when I wake up and make my breakfast. Currently, there’s one hotdog bun, a few bagels, and some multigrain
bread slices sitting on the shelves. And the popcorn maker was just used, so I need to clean it. Even that process is fun, the way just a couple tablespoons of water popped in the cooker steam up the whole machine, and make it easy to wipe clean.
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Before I continue to say what I want to say, of course what I’m not saying is to spend money you don’t have, or go into debt for something that will make you sick to your stomach. But…
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There are times when you need to buy the bread box, or purchase the popcorn maker, or whatever it is that makes your heart sing.
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Maybe it’s a cute throw pillow that would sit so nicely and look so amazing on your sofa.
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Perhaps it’s a string of lights for your yard that make your heart sing at night, when their solar power makes them shine.
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Or it might be a tote bag that says “road trip” – a bag you don’t need – but it says “road trip” and that’s cute and that’s fun.
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I spent a lot of my younger years feeling guilty about a lot of things, and probably 95% of those things were self- induced guilt and caused me to live life sadly. All the fun to be had in the world surely must be for someone else and not me, I grew to think. If it was fun, it was probably wrong, my mind told me.
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Now decades later, if I’m out shopping or online scrolling and something pops up that’s affordable and completely not needed – but oh so cute and fun – I usually buy it.
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We have been in the process of cleaning out my mom’s house and we have found wrestler salt and pepper shakers, dishes I’d never seen before, and a set of whimsical bookends of children that I snagged and brought home for my shelves. Mom didn’t need those things that were silly and fun, but now years later when I see them, I smile at her enjoyment of life.
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She always said, “You can’t take it with you,” which is true. That bread box isn’t going with me anywhere at the end of life, but it sure is bringing me pleasure now. And that popcorn machine? Well, it needs a good cleanout right now, and I’m going to do it, with a smile. These two little boxes that sit on my little cart are huge in bringing joy.
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So, go on. Buy that bread box. Bring home that popcorn maker. Or whatever it is you’ve been eyeing that’s calling your name.
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Enjoy life. And all the fun things it brings to your table and home.