My kids groan out loud at any sentence beginning “When I was a child…” They’re adamant I’ve already told far too many stories about the difficulties my mum faced raising three children alone, after divorcing my father. Enough already with those moralizing examples which highlight the striking divide between their good fortune and my own lean beginnings!
My mother never actually said we were short on cash, but I remember the first time she confided we were “going on an economy drive”. When I asked what she meant, mum replied we would be tightening our belts for a while. It occurs to me years later that I never once heard her say we could loosen them again…
A whizz with a pound of mince, mum could also make a chicken last a week! I'm delighted to see her thrifty genes live on in my own children. Bemoaning the rising cost of living, I overheard my eldest son decrying the price of cauliflower! The ridiculous hike in petrol prices has made my youngest think twice about optimizing his car journeys in the boy racer machine he bought recently. And even my small daughter has learned to compare the cost of sweet packets at the supermarket. Long live the family economy drive!
