I love perennially-flowering plants. They are a novelty for me. Yet, by the neglected looks of some peoples' peonies, I think the novelty wore off long ago.
I'm now in my fourth year of gardening, but it may never lose its novelty with me.
The word novelty for some conjures strong feelings as they think of the early days with their first love, their first bike, their first brand new truck. For others, it's the gag gifts and fad games.
When I was a kid, even novelty items were built to last. Many people still have their plastic vomit from the late 1970s, don't they? Yet, so many of what is readily available in stores these days will not be around in 30 years. They definitely don't make things to last that long, because they want to sell us more novelties!
At some point, we need to draw a line for kids regarding what is acceptable novelty and what is just plain wasteful. Why collect 'em all if they are just going to end up in a landfill?
As a kid, my kind of novelty items, like my poster of a favourite celebrity or my director's chair that read, 'VIP' on the back, were as fanciful as my imagination. I didn't care for gag gifts, but I wanted on my walls symbols of what I loved.
Having such an uncommon first name, I was hard-pressed to find such novelties as 'Marna' name plates, key chains or stickers. So, bumper stickers and witty placards, lava lamps and sand castles (the ones you could keep indoors) were all part of my collection.
The novelty always wears off, eventually, though, doesn't it? I no longer own any of the items I named in the last paragraph.
I do have a few novelty items from the 80s that are still in the original package and might even be worth something. Collectors worldwide know this, and even on Antiques Roadshow they are always marvelling at period novelty pieces. In fact, all antiques, no matter what their originally-intended purpose, are novelty items, because not only are there fewer around nowadays of them, but because they indeed do not make things like they used to!
I'm not an antique myself, yet, but as I watch my next birthday come and go, I realize that the season of youth is also mistreated as the novelty it truly is. We don't know just how much our youthful energy wanes until we are not so young anymore!
When I was a kid, I couldn't wait to grow up, but now I realize that the novelty of youth is best appreciated in hindsight. You can't live life looking through a rear-view mirror, however, so we must ever move forward, finding newer and greater novelties with which to embrace our interests and values. Excelsior...right?!
For me, the only way to feel young again is to be around the youngest people in the world! Babies are an absolute novelty, because they do not stay that small. So far, the novelty of being a mother has not worn off for me. I always assumed that, at some point, my son would stop being so adorably cute. However, I still can't get enough of my seven-year-old because of who he is - he's my shared biological legacy with my husband, and he is a complete chip off of both old blocks. Also, every single age is the best age when they are your own kids.
Not even the novelty of being with my husband has worn off and that's been nearly a decade - time flies when we are having fun! Maybe there are actually married couples, together half a century, who still give each other butterflies. But is that novelty, or is it the result of choosing against fleeting pleasures? If they never fired you up inside, will they ever?
We can change our body chemistry to become more loving toward others and not so enamoured by things. If we are grateful for our lives, every day can become a novelty.
I truly appreciate the kind words spoken by a lady who walked past my yard during the Fair days. She made my day by praising my garden and all the hard work and love that has gone into it!
In these days, when everybody is a critic, it's a true novelty to hear a compliment behind your back!
Remember, your words have more power than you realize - each one is a novelty!
