I may be cheap in some aspects of my life but I allow myself some kind of luxury in other areas. Not clothes, cars, or bags or similar items.

I indulge in sleep.

I keep buying beddings and new pillows every now and then. I ordered new ones from House of Snores and Neatens Manila for me and my kids a few weeks ago and I was pleasantly surprised that those were 500 thread count fabrics. They are nice. Every week I change sheets and every two weeks I change the duvet covers. If the sheets are older than a week, they feel itchy to me.

I had Tempur orthopedic pillows before but they didn’t work for me because I’m a side sleeper. I left them in the old house.

I also love scents.

When I started working even before I graduated in 2000, I began buying scented candles and lighted them so that my room would smell good and put them out when before I went to sleep. I stopped using scents in my rooms because I figured my ex-partner wouldn’t be enthralled with it. We did buy some Indian incense from Little India before but when we tried lighting it, it didn’t go well with my airconditioned room…smoke gets trapped inside! I still have a box of those incense here but I couldn’t use them because it reminds me too much of him and his love for India.

Anyway, my kids love hanging out in my room because as Twin A said, “Mommy, your room feels like a hotel room; your bed is nice and it smells good.”

For me to give up my bed for anyone is a sign that person is an esteemed person in my book.

Why did I write about bed now? Because I change my sheets on Sunday nights and while I was doing it earlier tonight, I reflected on why I keep on doing this tedious chore weekly. It’s cumbersome because it involves lifting the heavy orthopedic mattress, but when I have made my bed with fresh sheets, it feels really good so it’s all worth it. It feels luxurious.

Today I pulled out my lazy ass out of bed to cook because Twin I asked for pasta. So I did.

Tomorrow I need to shop for veggies though. They need to be stuffed with vegetables because come Christmas, they won’t be having any since they would be spending the holidays with their paternal side. They don’t eat enough veggies there. Their aunt and her family would be driving from here in Metro Manila to south to avoid airports = Covid. They will take the girls to see their 89-year-old grandpa before something happens to him. I cannot deny him his granddaughters and I don’t have any beef with him except for raising a spoiled, self-centered and lazy idiot.

I’m not worried that their dad won’t return the girls. Now that he’s so free, he wouldn’t want that freedom be taken away by having the kids with him. Besides, he doesn’t have money to send the girls to a private school. He knows he will destroy his children’s future if his ego gets the better of him.

So for weeks it will just be me and the cats in this apartment. I think it sounds lovely. The introvert side of me says ❤️.