Editor’s Note: This post was written by Chuck Billy back in November. At the time, rather than share it on the one year anniversary of the passing of Mom’s Uncle, he decided to hold onto it for a New Year’s resolution. Then Chuck Billy suddenly left us in December to be with our Great Uncle. I didn’t have the heart to share it then, but today would have been our Great Uncle’s birthday. In light of Chuck Billy’s sudden passing, his simple message here takes on greater meaning. So today I will follow his advice here and not save it for a better day….

For the past year, our Mom has been helping our Great Aunt organize the contents of a home that belonged to our Great Grammy and later Great Uncle. A home that has been in our family for over 80 years, and became a time capsule filled with “treasures.” No, not the type of treasure that Asa and I are always hoping to find from pirates. These treasures have no real monetary value. Instead they are priceless sentimental treasures from daily life.

However, because of the sentimental value assigned to many of these items by our loved ones, they were not used as intended. There were the “fancy” glasses in the china cabinet too good to use for even special family holiday dinners. The mug that sat on the hutch unused so as not to risk chipping it. The jewelry box that still contained the gift tag with Mom’s childhood writing, but sat in a drawer unused. Bureau drawers filled with sweaters and sweatshirts given as gifts over the years that were deemed too nice to wear every day. Instead they were saved for special occasions, but sadly for many of those tops that day never came. In the linen closet, sitting untouched in the original packaging were the warm flannel sheets, given with love to keep the chill out on cold winter nights. The special treats in their original cookie tins, set aside for good company, but now well past the expiration date. Time and time again Mom found these items and many more, tucked away for safe keeping. As I watched Mom inventory the house, I couldn’t help but notice that it made her sad that loved ones savored the memory of the gifts, rather than finding joy in their use. Why couldn’t they have done both?

This is why Asa and I double dog dare you to use the good dishes in 2025, even if it is for a quick weeknight dinner of takeout! Wear the special outfit on an ordinary day! Don’t worry about saving the good towels for guests! Learn from dogs! Be more dog and live in the moment! We don’t ignore our toys for fear they will break. We squeak that squeaker until it can’t squeak anymore! And if it gets ripped, it is sewn when possible. Or if broken beyond repair, it gets tossed and we move on with the memory while enjoying new toys. We don’t savor the treats given as a special gift, we chomp them! We wear the special collar bought on vacation, and it gets dirty and worn. But you know what? That’s what it was meant for, to be used and enjoyed!

So in the year ahead, if you find yourself setting something aside for a better day, please don’t. Use it! Enjoy it! Or if it is something you can’t use, give it to someone who can! Because in the end it is just stuff, and you can’t take it with you when you set off on the grandest adventure of all. But the memories associated with it, will last safe in your heart, and perhaps the hearts of loved ones. This New Year we double dog dare you to use the good dishes and live in the moment!