“I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex.” 
― Oscar Wilde

After two weeks of heightened stress at work and needing to be on high alert for days at a time, I’m hoping for a slower and more sustainable few days. We had a delightful weekend celebrating Jeff’s birthday and in the midst of a truly great meal, I got to thinking about “everyday pleasures” that help ground me.

While I can’t say that Michelin star rated restaurants are a reasonable thing to add to your regime of self care (I wish. I don’t remember the last time I’ve felt that as relaxed as I did in the cab ride home–sated doesn’t begin to cover it), there are a lot of small things that produce an immediate hit of dopamine in my system. A short list includes, but is not limited to…

Clean sheets

Fresh contact lenses

Coffee in bed on the weekend

Calls with friends. A weekly necessity.

Buying fresh flowers or greenery for the house

Soup in cold weather

Begin legitimately able to light holiday scented candles

When a book on your waitlist becomes available at the library

Baths

Watching Jane Austen film adaptations while folding laundry

Snagging the front seat on a double decker London bus

Reading a magazine start to finish in one sitting

A good hair day

Date night with my husband, whether at said Michelin star restaurant, or on the couch with Netflix

What are the small things that recharge you?