My grocery queendom: There are times when you decide to buy something you don’t need but feel absolutely guiltless about it

Rithu Dravid & Aamirah Thayibah

“There was nothing I love more than my shopping time at the nearby grocery store,” says Priya. “To find a breathing space is all that I need and such distractions from my daily routine gives me a break,” she adds. Being a woman can be stressful, a modern woman has to work, cook, take care of the children, and run errands.

For most mothers, grocery shopping is a small ablution at the end of a difficult day, “The pre-shopping plans of making a grocery list in itself is fulfilling. The time I get for myself at a grocery store, helps me analyze, research and indulge in buying, makes me happy, ” says Radhika. There were probably times when you have bought something you didn’t need but bought it anyway for the instant gratification. This positive distraction that makes the shopping experience every time a very effective one is a de-stressing activity for many mothers. Taking minibreaks from the mundane lifestyle is certainly a mood elevator and gives immense satisfaction. “Going shopping with the kids can be truly challenging, they stop by every step of the way, pushing and pulling things off the rack and this does not give me contentment of my time spent at the store,” says Radhika. Going to the grocery store solo is like walking into a happening bar only without being hit on. So, by being solo at the store, you can be satisfied with dedicating at least an hour to the uninterrupted experience of walking down the aisle. Navigating the store, weighing options, checking the quality of the products, and putting it on the table for the family with much love is challenging yet gratifying for most mothers. “To be able to get what everyone likes back home is emotionally so fulfilling. Shopping is our time to think, relax, and surround ourselves with a world quite different from our everyday one,” says Rhea.

Choosing to see food shopping, not as being forced upon but rather as an activity on the best days for self-time makes it special. That instant shot of happiness one gets can be attributed to the chemical carrier of pleasure, enjoyment, and well-being. It is a feeling of comfort that feeds our instinct to continue shopping even when reasons tell us that it is enough.

The glorious me-time at the grocery store is a kind of therapy, a sort of natural antidepressant for many homemakers. This one domestic task with immense satisfaction, only to fly through the aisles for essentials gratifies a mother deeply -- to feed the family with love and fulfil the retail therapy aspect. A perfect win-win situation.