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June 22, 2006
Beating the blues
Having to make ends meet — shoes for the toddler, a computer for the eldest, new suit for the husband — inevitably results in the lady of the house losing out, writes Zahrah Nasir
My finger nails, grubby at the best of times, are a distinct shade of watered-down kind of burgundy right now, in fact they contrast kind of nicely with the beige computer keyboard that I am hunched over as usual in the evening. Why are my un-polished nails this colour you may well ask and, even if you don’t, I am still set on telling you anyway!
Well….it’s like this. I am a firm believer in being able to cheer myself up, bash the blues to bits when I feel this is needed, which isn’t often to be honest, just once in, dare I say it, a ‘blue moon’ and I have worked out my own particular way of doing this.
Living on a ‘restricted’ budget, as the majority of us do these days, leaves little room for the luxuries of life and even less for those all important, extremely necessary feminine ‘non-essentials’ like real perfume not imitation stuff, fragrant soaps which reek of money, gorgeously silky body lotions instead of the slimy cheap alternatives, extravagant body sprays which, in the advertisements at least, bring knights in shining armour to their knees –– know what I mean? All the things a single female indulges herself in at whim, all the things that have a tendency to evaporate when the first rosy bloom of marriage exits by the window as budgetary restrictions walk in through the door.
Having to make ends meet; the baby needs diapers, the toddler needs shoes, the older ones must have a computer, the husband must have a new suit if he even aspires to a promotion, inevitably results in the lady of the house losing out.
Instead of simply grinning and bearing it and ultimately suffering from a lethal dose of the blues why not start a prevention strategy called, quite simply ‘the stash’. No one is going to notice if you begin stashing a few rupees away now and then. The money from selling old newspapers, tins, bottles for example, the cash you save by not having a soft drink when out buying regular goods for the house, the little that can be salvaged by skipping a chocolate bar now and then, by doing the washing at home instead of sending it to the laundry, not that I am advocating that you become a total household slave. Not at all, that is the last thing on my mind but look around, think of what you can reasonably save on without adding to your existing burden or denying the family occasional treats.
Hide your stash away, somewhere where you can take it out when you are ‘home alone’, count it, drool over it and dream of how you are going to spend it all on yourself, on no one but yourself. Don’t feel guilty. You deserve it.
Housewives do not receive pay, although they should, so what is wrong in building up a stash to dream on –– the hours of pleasure spent on deciding how you are going to splurge is another glorious factor to contemplate. Will you wait until you have enough for a new outfit, new shoes, a book, perfume, a lunch with only female friends to entertain? The options are endless and not selfish at all. Remember that you really have earned it which brings me back to the strange colour of my finger nails.
My own secret stash reached a very satisfactory level a couple of weeks back. It took six months to get there but finally the day arrived when I really felt that having a blow out would do me good. The sheer anticipation of a spending spree cheered me up immediately and I was as high as a kite before I even reached the shopping area which I had decided on.
Lavender soap, lavender shampoo, lavender body spray, lavender oil –– obviously lavender is my fragrance of the moment right now, a novel I had been wanting for ages, a small packet of smoked salmon for sheer gastronomic pleasure, a box of scented candles…lavender of course and something I had convinced myself was an expensive waste of time years ago.
I also bought a box of hair dye –– not lavender but burgundy to hide the silver streaks that everyone, except me, had got quite used to. Okay! You are supposed to wear the plastic gloves which come with the product but, thinking of the next stash in the making, I kept those for when I am painting the living room ceiling. Think of the stretching exercises I will have to do in the process, the calories I will burn up, the pleasure I will ultimately obtain through a job well done and just think of the money I can stash by not hiring a decorator and just think of the money I will have wasted if I get white paint streaks in my newly burgundy hair!
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