I’m not “into” a lot. If we’re going for blunt, I’m not really “into” anything. I make myself frozen rice (white with veggies or brown) with frozen veggies (corn, peas, string beans, cauliflower, and/or broccoli) or frozen chicken (grilled and ready) for dinner. Sometimes I mix all three… if I have guests, twice a year tops, I bang out an incredible feast. I watch one show regularly (reference teen mystery/drama), two if my boyfriend reminds me about the one we watch together (a guess whodunit type). I spend time with my family (ie: my mom and my dad), my boyfriend (he deserves a descriptive parenthetical), his family (whom I love and adore), and maybe twice a month I’ll run errands or get coffee with two of my three friends (Kris, Lori, and Jess). If it’s a crazy month I’ll see all three and there will be a wine night (note to Kris: there should really be more wine nights). I read and I write with questionable consistency, and sporadically clean my bathroom (which recently has been painted a horrible blend of green and blue that definitely looked both bluer and much better in the store).
The gym is not something I’m by any means “into”; I go for five straight days and then take two weeks off. Sometimes I’ll go every other day, and then take more time off. Every morning I listen to my online radio station that mainly consists of one artist/band. I’m completely happy to watch the same movie every night for months on end before bed. I’m a highly routine and completely spontaneous person. I have the things I love and everything else I try, and enjoy, is just a bonus.
Tonight I went to an essential oils “make and take” hosted by someone who knew me when I was young enough to still have a shot at being normal. While her mother taught me how to swim, Rachel used to babysit me. Her whole family has been a part of my life for the past twenty-two years, and will undoubtedly be present for the next twenty-two. On the whole I would say the people who practice the art of essential oils are invested. I’m not talking about the collectors, the people who jump from real gyms, to home gyms, to fashion trends, to yoga, to juicing cleansers, to new religions, to living off the grid, and then jump back to their upper-class home in the suburbs with a $200/month gym membership a block away from where they started their first home gym.
The people who truly embrace the essential oils are people who care about their bodies and the wellbeing of those they love, like my friend Rachel. Rachel cares about people, not just the ones she loves either, everyone. Her practice of essential oils is to spread that love to others, to provide some thieves to her husband who works with germy children all day, or to keep some orange scented oil in her purse for her son because it’s his happy oil.
It’s with that same love that she hosts her “make and take” gatherings. I’ve only been to one, but I can assure you every gathering this gal hosts is filled with that same sense of love and general caring for the wellbeing of society. With every little detailed meticulously planned, I’m a little upset Rachel never considered being a wedding planner. There were these perfect brownie bites (made entirely with no added sugar and only four or five good-for-you ingredients) sitting on top of a small white cake platter with a delicate trim and little bushels of red or pink flowers. In a beautiful white bowl decorated with cursive letters and depictions of lemons sat perfect squares of bread laid out around a bowl with avocado oil and essential lemon oil for dipping. In between the two sat a gorgeous off white pitcher that looked as though Rachel effortlessly sculpted it perfectly at home filled with water next two tear dropped shaped glasses with suggested essential oils for drinking lined up in front.
After setting up the table with all of the ingredients for the homemade scrubs and creams we were set to make, it looked as though a professional photographer had set the stage for one of those “home” magazines’ cover shoot. The thing that stuck out most to me was Rachel’s measuring cups. They weren’t anything extravagant, or something to be found $40 overpriced from a fancy store, but there was something that felt like home about the plain, almost generic, silver classic cups. Watching her scoop out semi-solid coconut oil was like watching a real life fifties housewife make you cookies filled with genuine love.
Smelling the oils, drinking them in my water, and really getting hands on experience made me realize that when I have a job where I can afford to pay all my bills and have some made money, I will order the starter kit from Rachel. Not that I every see myself being as skilled or embraced as she is, but I will be the weirdo who has a diffuser in their room to serve as both a nightlight and some background noise and who keeps a roll-on of the “stress away” in her purse. I will probably never make those delicious brownie bites or be able to identify the name of an oil by its sent, but much like everything else in my life, essential oils will certainly find their casual home between my reading, my writing, and the reorganization of every room in my house.
After we finished learning about the effects of lavender, thieves, peppermint, and lemon, and everyone else had packed up their trinkets to go, I stayed back to catch up with Rachel a little bit. It had been so long since I had seen her last, and even though I know what she’s up to through her mom (who, aside from going to the chiropractor’s office I work at, also happens to work at my gynecologist’s office), I wanted to hear it from her. We were joined by our chiropractor (whose office space Rachel had hosted in), and I realized something else (aside from the fact that I’m currently too poor and not dedicated enough, yet, for delightful oils): for as little or as often as I have seen these two people over the past dozens of years, I have always had them in my life. They are two of the most down to earth, goodhearted people I’ve ever met. Even by standing back and listening to the two of them talk I was filled with a wonderful feeling of joy.
In the midst of this experience I realized how every day is incredible. These are people I have known my whole life – they know the good, the bad, and the questionable and they still embrace me whenever I see them whether it’s been a few days or a few years. Since I started my blog by my own accord and committed to two entries a week at the insistence of my chiropractor I’ve had this nagging feeling, like the one when your mother tells you to put your coat on because it’s negative two degrees outside. I finally discovered why the nagging feeling was present, for as many shitty people as I have known (both biblically and otherwise), the fact that I have people that make me feel like “home” is so heartwarming, my chest could melt a chocolate to its molecular level. I have the same sense of home with all of Rachel’s family, with my mom and my dad, with my boyfriend, and I’m even starting to have it with his family. It’s the feeling of love that reminds me how incredibly blessed I am in life.
Even though this blog post has limited sarcasm and no real point, if you can, invest in essential oils, because they’re definitely worth it, and if you can, be a good person, because in the end it’s really all that matters.