They Are The Spice In My Life

I was having loads of fun with my four friends over wine and cheese. It was a girlie night in the cottage in my garden which was off limits for my husband for the night. Well obviously, since it was a girlie night. Ever tried discussing with him about who said what behind your back? Don’t even go there.

And yes, I can’t see us gossiping into the small hours about Koffee with Karan. Good lord, he would start yawning his way out in no time. He doesn’t even know the names of lead actors after having lived for decades with the Bollywood Wikipedia, yours truly. Words like Bollywood, fashion, designer brands (which are like religion to me) are alien to him. Mention someone who has gone under the knife to improve on her looks; he would roll his eyes like, what’s the big deal. The less said the better about my weight loss solutions. He just can’t get why I keep saving tips on weight loss from the Internet. Just eat healthy and walk regularly, how tough is that? Or that time when I seriously needed to know if my red dress made me look fat. My lord and master says in a deadpan manner that I look the way I always do. It’s a good thing my hands were otherwise engaged, and I was unable to throttle him.

Yes, I understand this is all small stuff. But it adds so much spice to an otherwise dull existence. Where’s the fun? Yes, that’s where my girlfriends come in. Many times, what I need is a barrel of wine and some serious bitching sessions with them. Here I come back to my girlie night.

Ms B looked fab in her new dress. Everyone oohed and aahed over it for a while. Terms like babe and sweetie were heard several times over the hours. Ms A conspiratorially winked that someone we knew was high maintenance big time. What a waste, since it hardly yielded any result. Frankly she didn’t need it. She was genuinely beautiful with an hourglass figure. But you sometimes succumb to your insecurities.

Ms D thought if she had friends like us she would never feel like that. She teased me mercilessly on my sedentary lifestyle, mimicking me lying on my bed with a book and a packet of chips next to me. I retorted that she doesn’t know the new me. I now eat every two hours and work out on the treadmill regularly. This impressed everyone.

They all pitched in as to how I should go about it. Frankly they are experts and I listened to their advice carefully. Someone even offered to monitor my diet and exercise regimen regularly.

Biting into a chunk of Brie, Ms C mentioned that she was reading PG Wodehouse and enjoying herself thoroughly. We cracked up over Bertie and the cow creamer, made everyone hysterical  narrating excerpts from the book. The wine was probably making us giddy with excitement. Out of the blue someone declared Kareena Kapoor looked extremely stylish in her maternal outfits. The next half hour was devoted to clothes and accessories. Current topics like Demonetization, Trump, Obama’s farewell speech were dissected, ridiculed or favoured in a very frivolous manner.

Ms B craved my special orange cake which I promised to bake for her the very next day. Someone pointed out that after demonetization her hubby has become slightly stingy.

Sounds of laughter drifted out of the cottage as we decided to meet again very soon. Hubs was happy to have me back all rejuvenated and in high spirits. I’m sure he also enjoyed his me-time. His thoughtfulness towards me is visible and I somehow fall more in love with him.  

Spending time with my friends brought many of his niceties to my notice. I guess giving each other space helps to retain your individuality and love quotient.

It’s not only that we enjoy a good gossip and have a laugh, we also watch each others’ backs and give trustworthy advice. They never fail to uplift and motivate me, upping my self-confidence in the process. It’s comforting to see a sense of belonging. And yes, the fun element is always in abundance at our meets. Everyone needs to lighten up.

As someone said, “Don’t take life too seriously, nobody gets out alive anyway!