It’s Mom’s 79th birthday. She’s on the phone venting as usual about the same old things, and my job is to lend an ear and say, “uh-huh”. “What’s with these electric and water bills? Too much! Too much!” She’s disconnected her landline as she now has two cell phones. Two phones? I’ve got only one that I hardly use, and I can hardly pay my monthly bill! But, of course, I don’t share my woes with her. She doesn’t know I feel the pinch, too.
Earlier at the grocery store, I took a deep breath upon entry and looked at the prices of avocados, broccoli, apples, strawberries, cucumbers and mangoes in front of me. Nope. Not affordable. Not on sale. So I walked past them and checked the prices of tomatoes, eggplant, okra, sweet potatoes and plantain. Nope. Not affordable. Not on sale except for the tomatoes on the vine, so a pack went into my still empty shopping cart. Aha! The 30% discount cart with packs of mandarin oranges! On closer inspection though, they were either crushed or moldy. Nope. 30% had perished. Moving on… Pampano for $3/lb. The usual price. Good enough. A pack of three will do for the week (and perhaps the next). Now my favourite: mussels. Yikes! From last month’s $8/pack to $12! Nope. Wait for next week or next month. Now, eggs. Anything for $3? Yes! A dozen medium eggs for the week (and perhaps the next) and a pack of noodles. So this week’s menu includes rice and fish and tomatoes, noodles and eggs, rice and fish and tomatoes, noodles and eggs… Oh! And there’s also paratha and cheese in the freezer for variety. And as Grandma always said, “Be grateful for and never waste a grain of salt or rice” and thank Heaven for every drop of rain and ray of sun that sustain us. MLJ/20/03/2022
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