If I were to count in a week how many times I heard someone say “cozy” or how many times I read a post about all things “cozy” or, even better, saw an influencer show me cozy products or just pics of her getting all cozy, there would be hundreds and hundreds. And hundreds.
I’ve actually started to groan, maybe roll my eyes a little, when I hear the word. Sometimes I laugh. Sometimes I yell, “cozy!” when I hear it, especially if Joe is nearby. He understands.
And yet all the buzz has reminded me of what the word represents, and well, I love that. What’s better than feeling cozy, especially in fall or winter (and I will agree with the influencers that you usually need a blanket and hot tea for that, maybe a candle). If you can be in your home and feel cozy, you’re super lucky. And if somehow you can make yourself cozy at someone else’s home or, wow, your workplace, I’d say your life is pretty wonderful.
But sometimes a moment or space described as cozy online isn’t cozy at all. Cozy has to be saved for the right time in the right place under the right circumstances. You shouldn’t just throw around “cozy.”
This is cozy:
› Thick, warm socks (not light, worn socks)
› Soft, fluffy blankets (not thin, scratchy blankets)
› Low temperatures outside, high temperatures inside (cannot – must not – be cold inside in any way)
› A beautiful scent that reminds you of something wonderful (nothing unscented)
› A mind free of worry (For this small cozy moment in time, troubles have to be pushed aside.)
› A simple task – like coloring or watching home movies or reading. (You can’t be working on your laptop.)
› Someone you like sitting next to you, or not. (But someone you don’t like…no.)
› Lights dimmed ever so low, or not at all. (Definitely not fluorescent ceiling lights.)
Optional:
› A storm
› Loungewear/baggy sweatshirt
› Dog/cat curled up next to you
› Quiet (not sure this is optional)
› Fireplace
I mentioned my conflicting feelings about the word to one of my daughters, and surprisingly, she didn’t find it odd that I was thinking so much about cozy. “Right now,” she said, “cozy is keeping me sane. My candles, my matcha and the Harry Potter series – that’s making me happy, especially when it’s so cold out.”
Ah. I get it now. All those influencers throwing the word around may actually need cozy themselves. And they might recognize how much we all could benefit by feeling cozy, even if it’s just for a short time. And most of all, they know how hard it is for some people to find cozy. So they talk about it, demonstrate it and maybe even offer a product to get you there.
If I think about it differently – which I try – you could say everyone who promotes “cozy” is really promoting warmth and peace and comfort. You can’t roll your eyes at that.
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