Throw pillows are the secret of life

Yes, I have the answer: Throw pillows are the secret to life, or at least one of them. And no, I haven't lost it, nor has Martha Stewart broken into my blog. It's like this:

We bought the wooden front bench in our hallway when we moved into our house 12 years ago. I never noticed that it seemed kind of bare until recently, when I had a few rare quiet minutes and I was roaming our first floor. I decided it would look much better with a throw pillow.

This: Taking time to look at something old and see it in a different way. When does that ever happen? Never ever ever. Let alone thinking about home accessories; our latest additions are usually along the lines of a glass of vinegar sitting on our living room bookcase with an egg in it. (Sabrina science experiment.)

A couple days later, I jumped into the car on a day off work, with the sole mission of finding a throw pillow. I headed to Bed, Bath & Beyond, the store that some might mistake as being a secret to life but is most likely what heaven looks like. (With everything free, of course.) I hit the pillow area, browsed to my heart's content and found an oblong one with a cool green print. Green always makes me happy. Done!
 
This: Doing something solely for me. I hardly ever go shopping just for me anymore—it's almost always for the kids or Dave. True, this was for the house but a pillow is only something I'd notice or care about.

Then I wandered aimlessly around the store. I hovered in Bridal Registry and checked out china patterns. I ogled some nice-looking pots and pans (if my twentysomething self had known I would someday think pots and pans were sexy, she would have been very scared). I explored the bath area, redesigning the color scheme of our master bathroom in my head because I am wild and crazy that way.

This: Enjoying non-purposeful activity. It's something that's very, very hard for me. Even at home, on a day off or at night, I find it difficult to sit on the couch and just read because I am forever jumping up to do something—de-clutter, clean, get stuff ready for school for the next day, Mom job etc. etc. etc.

I brought the pillow home. Of course, nobody else even noticed it was there. But my eyes fall on it every time I walk through the front door and it makes me just a little happier. Yet another secret to life: Happiness doesn't often happen by the bulk load, but those little boosts really can mean a lot.