Lap of Luxury by DC Juris
Hi there, everyone! My name's DC Juris, and
I'll be your guest blogger today. Don't worry—I don't bite. Unless you ask
nicely! ::wink::
For those of you who don't know me, I'm a
transgender guy who writes GLBTQ and heterosexual romance—typically fantasy and
contemporary.
I'm one of those writers who has an Evil Day
Job. I work at a small veterinary clinic, which is home to three doctors, two
technicians, one front desk supervisor, three receptionists, myself, and two
cats. We have almost four thousand clients—I know this because I just did a
mass mailing to them. We've got clients from all walks of life: older people,
young people, people with money and people with very little to their names.
The thing about a veterinary clinic is that
people are usually there for a while; half an hour at the least. So, you
overhear some interesting conversations. One I heard the other day was two
clients discussing one of their neighbors, and how the man seems to live in
excess. They talked about things like heated flooring in his garage, eating out
all the time, having two cars when he's only one person, etc. They kept using
the word "luxury"—used it about seven times, from what I recall. The
thing I found funny was that none of what they mentioned was anything I'd
consider luxury. Which got me thinking…what do I consider luxury?
To me, luxury is all about the small things.
The reason for this, you see, is that growing up we never had the small things.
When I was a child, I thought of luxuries in terms of things most other people
took for granted. Hot running water in the bathroom, a flushing toilet, a stove
with more than one working burner, an oven bigger than a toaster oven, heat, a
roof that didn't leak. Those things seemed like far-flung fantasies.
I probably don't have to say that I got out of
that situation as soon as I possibly could. I've spent the past ten or so years
of my life working my rosy little buns off in order to make my life better—make
it what I want—and to be financially sound. But I'll bet I still define luxury
a little differently than most. Nowadays, luxury means cocoa anytime I want it,
being able to afford fresh fruits and vegetables, being able to buy my husband
whatever Christmas gifts he wants, being able to go to a grocery store and just
buy what I want and not have to worry about the cost. Luxury is sirloin beef
instead of the cheaper stuff. Luxury is Yoplait® Yogurt, Lipton®
Tea, and Jiffy® Peanut Butter—all the brand names I loved at other
people's houses when I was a kid.
But above all else, luxury means ease and
comfort to my life for once. I don't go to bed hungry, or too hot or too cold.
I don't go to bed afraid of what will happen in the night. And I know what
you're thinking—these things are all just common things. Nothing fancy about
them. But for me, it's luxury.
What about you? What luxuries do you have—or wish you had—in your
life?
Leave a comment below, and one lucky winner will receive the luxury
of this lovely DC Juris Cover Art desk 2012 calendar! I'll end the drawing
tomorrow at 11:59 PM!
