Unfortunately, he could not foresee the future, because if he had, he would never have let himself be used as a human pincushion, host to the many daggers used by his treacherous colleagues to end his life. But he did, and as they say, the rest is history.
It only seemed fitting that I choose this day to bring you up to speed on my “buying challenge” as I am at the halfway point. However, much like Caesar, I had no way of knowing that the COVID-19 virus scare would have such a significant impact on everything. First of all, toilet paper went from being a household item, purchased when needed, to an overnight hoarding sensation, and I had to be careful that I didn’t get caught up in the hype. The same went for antibacterial wipes and hand sanitizer. However, I was never crazy about them in the first place and, therefore, found it easier not to succumb to the buying frenzy that was going on all around me.
Day 4, 5, 6 - Stayed away from stores. That worked very well. Pretty hard to buy stuff if you aren’t anywhere near it.
Day 7 - Went grocery shopping, but before heading out, created a list, and what was even more impressive, took it with me! I followed it to a T and only bought what was really necessary, but boy was that ever hard. There are lots of neat things in a grocery; you never know what kind of gadgets you might find! As it was, I made notes. April wasn’t that far away, and I might really need that cool pepper grinder one day.
Day 8, 9, 10 - My wallet is on board with this current project, but I don’t think my brain is. It insists that I look online as well as in-store. OK. I’ll add a side-bar to the challenge; practice window shopping both ways without succumbing to the buying bug. If that isn’t real excitement, I don’t know what is.
Day 11 - I used up my last tealight, the one that exudes fragrance, whether lit or not, and for the life of me, I could not find another in the house. I hunted through my junk drawers and turned my candle box inside out. There, hiding under some matches, were a dozen unscented ones. Hmmm. Ugly, but they would do the trick. I mean, they WERE tealights. And besides, I couldn’t bring in any new ones. Or could I?
Day 12 - I twitched all day. Finally, at 4 pm, I called my daughter. Was she going shopping after work? Where? Oh good. Would she consider picking something up for me, and could I pay her next month? Yes? Excellent! I figured that since I hadn’t physically bought the tealights myself - I mean, I hadn’t even touched them - I didn’t break any “no buy” rules. Technically.
Sunday. The Ides of March. From Friday the 13th to today, I watched as the world unravelled. Somehow my little fun project, and whether or not I could get my shopping impulses under control, didn’t seem that important anymore. At first, I thought, “I should give it up”, but then I realized that with fears mounting, what I, and perhaps others needed, was a sense of normalcy. And what could be more normal than buying stuff? Or, in my case, not buying stuff?
So I decided to stay the course and get through the next two weeks with all the challenges it may present. After all, there is this marvellous chocolate shop that I just might check out on the weekend. Only to look, of course.
- Liz Cameron
Disclaimer: opinions expressed are those of the writer.
