The Good Glasses. On a Tuesday.

Apparently, some glasses are waiting for an occasion.

They stand in the cupboard looking elegant while an entirely serviceable, slightly disappointing glass does all the work.

The beautiful ones are for guests.

The candle is for an evening we have not arranged yet.

There may also be a dress somewhere awaiting an invitation worthy of its potential.

Our cupboards contain some remarkably patient objects.

I understand keeping something for a particular occasion. I also enjoy the possibility that an ordinary evening might qualify.

Dinner is already happening. We are going to sit down, eat something and spend a little time together.

That seems a reasonable moment to use the things we like.

I love the small choices that give an evening its atmosphere. A glass that feels lovely in the hand. Music you can still talk over. A table with enough space for the food and absolutely no requirement for a photograph.

A candle can be a candle. It does not need to become an entire concept.

There is a particular pleasure in a room that feels welcoming without looking as though nobody is allowed to touch anything.

Sit down. Move the cushion. Put your bag somewhere.

If the bread is good, we may already have everything necessary.

Of course, using beautiful things exposes them to the risks of being used. A glass may break. Wax may land somewhere inconvenient. The dress may return from dinner with evidence that dinner occurred.

I would still rather enjoy some things while they belong to my actual life.

Otherwise, an impressive amount of pleasure can remain in storage.

And I am not proposing that every Tuesday should require preparation. Sometimes the evening deserves the sofa, something uncomplicated to eat and clothes with very forgiving waistbands.

But if I feel like making the table lovely, I would prefer not to spend twenty minutes deciding whether the day has earned it.

The glasses have already been waiting.

Let them come out.

And if somebody asks what we are celebrating, “I thought these would be nice” is a perfectly satisfactory answer.

Choosing something beautiful does, however, raise another practical question: can you comfortably sit down in it?

Silvia