Venezia Parfum and the Meaning of Life

I am not really sure how to approach this subject. I suppose I should say that I fell in love with a parfum which was discontinued sometime ago. To me it is simply the best scent and fits me perfectly. It's woodsy, spicy, heavy....sort of like I imagine a night on Bourbon Street in the heat of summer would be like. It would likewise fit perfectly into a day of shopping with my friend Sarah in Milan. (envision 2 almost middle aged women giggling breathlessly wearing high heels and big floppy hats) But I digress... It was discontinued and I began this manic buy up of every bottle I could find. The price shot up as supply decreased. Thoughts of reselling it and making a fortune "someday" crossed my mind. I put each new bottle away like a trophy and didn't use it.

Over the past year I have been developing weird physical symptoms. Tremors, loss of memory, swallowing was getting difficult, I would be in mid sentence and forget a simple word and just stammer. I couldn't write my name. Dr.s started throwing around words like Parkinsons, Multiple Sclerosis and other things I couldn't pronounce let alone remember. It was a dark time. My GP sat me down and told me that before we proceeded he wanted me to taper off my high doses of antidepressants. All of which act on the dopamine levels in the brain. I decided to humor him. In just three weeks time the tremors had disappeared! Each week more and more of myself reemerged. I was literally overcome with joy the first time I tried to decorate a cake, sign my name, have a conversation. I had been given my life back. That doesn't happen to many.

While getting ready for Christmas I found my stash of Venezia high on a shelf waiting for "someday". I realized that it is now I should be enjoying it. Today is a gift and I should act accordingly. So what if I never make a million on it. So what if at 80 I will be surrounded by empty Venezia bottles saying to my grandkids...."Ya know kids, grandma could have been a millionaire..." I grabbed a bottle off the shelf and I grabbed a bottle to send to a friend... I even wrapped up a bottle to give to my daughter for Christmas. It was delightful moment when she opened it and got all wide eyed. "Mom, isn't this the expensive perfume?" "Yes it is dear. Life is too short to keep the good stuff on the shelf."