What do you think of as luxury? Is it a fancy dinner? A great shopping trip? One of my kids was writing an essay for school about the differences between luxury and necessity and had to interview 5 people about their opinions as part of the project. When I was younger I would have said shopping and the perfect wardrobe. But as I get a bit older, or mature whichever you prefer, I think that the definition of luxury is harder to pin down. Time is often something I think of as a luxury. I work full time and have three kids and the resulting volunteer obligations that go with that. So some days the definition of luxury would be sleeping until I woke up and then going for a run and then reading and relaxing as opposed to leaping out of bed for an all day baseball or lacrosse tournament. Some days, just knowing my kids are healthy and doing well in their respective schools is a luxury. Sitting down on a Sunday night knowing the laundry is done, the house is clean and lunches are packed for Monday morning is a luxury. I think the concept of luxury is fluid. It's being able to spot it in the little things and realize that it does not have to come from money spent that is important. How about you?
I will admit that I still think of luxury as the list of things that money can buy, but I've learned to value the luxuries that money cannot buy more. Spending time with my family, quiet time in the morning, and living in the moment have become more valuable to me in my 40s.
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