By Kim Newberry

Seafood, to me, is like jewelry: enticing, but too dear to appear on a weekly shopping list. I'm picky, too. My granddaddy was a Mississippi fisherman, and I was raised on fresh crab, shrimp and fish. It's hard to pay high prices for seafood with that "not so fresh feeling" after its journey to the Rockies.

But that June day I was entranced by the gorgeous spiny red crab legs behind the glass at Safeway. These were beauties. I began to rationalize my impulse to buy them. I had a coupon. They were on sale. Wouldn't one crab dinner cost about the same as two trips through the drive thru? We needed to give up fast food anyway. And wasn't I supposed to eat more Omega-3-rich seafood?

Before I knew it, I was planning my side dishes (okay, butter).

My kids were excited about our feast. I set my largest pot to boil. I couldn't find crab crackers, so I washed off my husband's pliers (he was in Iraq and would never know). I rounded out my fighting gear with the handle of a case knife and a fork that after our meal would resemble modern art. The meat was flaky, sweet, and juicy. My kids chirped like baby birds, "More crab! More crab!" I laughed, whacked, cracked, and enjoyed their enthusiasm. Butter and crab juice ran to our elbows. We ate until we rolled on the floor, full and smiling. Crabs made the day.

I'm glad I didn't wait for a special occasion to splurge. I'd been edgy, self-absorbed, tired, and just way too serious. I needed to lighten up and do something just for fun. I decided my children deserved it, and so did I.

So our crab feast was the first in a series of silly indulgences that summer. We played belly dancing music and danced around with silk scarves. We camped overnight in a tent in the living room. We set up a village using train tracks, doll furniture, and stuffed animals. We had a tea party with our patient old dog (she even wore a hat). We hunted teddy bears in the dark with flashlights. I let the kids use my fancy scented lotions. We made cookies with Christmas cutters and Easter-colored icings. We played dress-up and acted out skits. We ate raisins in plastic champagne glasses. We dyed our bath water electric blue. We lay on the grass and played with earthworms. We blew up balloons. My daughter and I wore our hair in matching pigtails to the store. We painted signs for each other's rooms. We adopted a kitten. We claimed every Thursday as Pajama Day. We had a ball just being together.

My husband has been back from deployment for a good while now and we are back into a steady routine. The kids are deep into the school year, and life is busier than ever. It really is harder to find time for silliness. But occasionally we can still be found hula hooping in the living room, or taping our noses up to our foreheads to make pig faces, or even just making a glittery mini disco ball for the dollhouse. Life is so short. My goal, truly, is to find time to relax and indulge more often. Even when crab is not on sale.