The thing you save for a special occasion must survive ordinary days without participating in them.

The thing kept back for a worthy moment spends years being present and unused. It survives all the ordinary days without taking part in a single one, and the occasion it is waiting for has to be significant enough to justify the wait, which makes it rarer each year. Preservation and use are in direct competition.

So use the good one this week. The wine, the plate, the shirt, the pen. The special occasion is largely a decision rather than an event, and if the thing is lost or broken in the meantime it will have been worth more used than saved. Ordinary days are what most of your life is made of.