Essay | A story about sneaking a little luxury into my grocery basket
Hello, I'm Natsu.
At the entrance of the supermarket, I caught a whiff of a soft, sweet floral scent.
"Oh, spring is almost here."
A warm presence faintly mixed into the cold wind.
Just that alone makes my heart feel a little lighter.
Now that I'm on maternity leave, grocery shopping is one of my few connections to the "outside world."
On the way there, with my 3-year-old eldest son in the bicycle child seat, cutting through the wind.
"Mom, there are flowers blooming over there!"
While nodding along to the energetic voice from behind,
I pedal while keeping an eye on the groceries in the front basket.
For the old me, the supermarket was like a battlefield, a place to figure out "how to efficiently
get what I need for as little as possible."
But lately, I've been trying to change my perspective just a little bit.
Because my days are spent chasing after busyness,
I sneak a"gift for my heart"into the basket for myself.
Natsu's list of "little luxuries" that no one knows about
I'm definitely more of a tea or café au lait person than a coffee person.
And the golden rule for my little luxuries is to enjoy them "in secret" so my son doesn't find out.
These are the three best value-for-money luxuries I've found recently:
• A slightly nicer tea bag
Not the big bulk packs, but Earl Grey with a good aroma that costs a little over 50 yen per cup.
The scent the moment I pour the hot water lets me take a trip to a foreign land for just a moment.
• A special chocolate (one piece)
Usually I buy family packs, but for myself,
I buy just one piece of something a bit more expensive that melts in the mouth.
• A cream puff from the refrigerated section in the corner of the supermarket
It doesn't have to be from a cake shop. Just that simple cream puff from the supermarket. Sweet and cold. Pure bliss.
I enjoy these with a café au lait after the kids are fast asleep, or
during a fleeting moment of "me time."
If the kids find out, they'll say, "Hey! That's not fair, Mom!" and it'll be a disaster, so it's truly a "secret pleasure" (laughs).
After finishing the shopping, I load the heavy grocery bags into the bicycle basket.
When I look up, the gradient of the twilight sky melting from pale purple into deep navy catches my eye.
A residential area where streetlights have begun to flicker on.
The smell of dinner preparations drifting from distant houses, and
the slightly warmer air brushes against my nose.
The sound of my child's happy humming coming from behind me on the bike.
For some reason, that voice feels comforting now, as if it's anchoring me to this place.
"Alright, let's go home and have dinner."
When I say that, my child replies energetically, "Okay!"
(The cream puff hidden at the bottom of the basket is my own little secret)
As a perfectionist, sometimes I feel like I'm going to give myself an 'X' mark, thinking,
"I couldn't do that today either," or "I should have played with them more properly."
But I put a box of my favorite tea in the basket.
And I bought a cream puff without telling the kids.
With just that, I managed to keep myself in a good mood today.
Even if it's not 100 points, I think that's enough.
Tomorrow, I'll sneak another little joy into my basket on the way home.
On this account, I write about things I've found in my daily life that made me laugh a little,
things I thought about, or things that suddenly stayed in my heart.
I'd be happy if you read whichever ones catch your interest.
Greetings and Information
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