Granny Economics
I heard a new term today: Granny Economics. That’s how our post-COVID-19 reality is being described in some circles. It’s our society’s approach to spending, discarding, reusing and, well, living.
Looking on-line, I found only one reference – in www.urbandictionary.com - to “Granny Economics,” dating back to July 19, 2014.
“When you pay with cash to the penny. For example, have you ever been in line at a grocery store and the customer is a white haired granny looking lady. When they pay their bill they pay with cash and to the penny.”
OK. I understand the impulse to provide a visual description of a “granny.” And yet, since I am of “granny age,” I clearly take offense. But, here I digress.
What really captures my attention is the notion that, what we need today in order to survive – or even thrive – in a post-COVID-19 reality, is not something new and forward-looking. But old and shabby. Er, I mean, tried and true. And maybe a bit forgotten amidst our hustle-bustle lifestyles.
During the first weeks of sheltering-in-place, while my teenagers were climbing the walls with boredom, I found myself drawn to an array of jigsaw puzzles, board games, gardening, cooking and, ahem, video-watching. I taught my 17-year-old how to play a favorite word game that I had once played with my own mother. And we dusted off the backgammon set, whereby she trounced me, three games in a row.
I’ve also been cooking every night – some meals simple, some elaborate – for my family of four. And my daughters have rediscovered the back yard, where they laze around in the fresh air. While we spend our days mostly apart, we do come together for dinner. Just like my childhood days.
What I’ve come to realize is that we don’t need half the stuff we have in our house. Not the clothes, the books or the gadgets. We have generated too much waste. We have spent too much money. And what do we have to show for it? A lot of graying hair and a FOMO. Or, fear of missing out, for you non-hip grannies.
My point here is that, when I was a little girl, we didn’t need much, and we didn’t go out much. We stayed in, stayed together, stayed safe. And we were perfectly happy.
I can’t say I’m looking forward to a pre-COVID-19 life again, with the “mommy taxi” scenario, the over-scheduled workweek, and multiple take out meals each month. What I long for is a continuation of the pre-pre-COVID-19 life. The one from my childhood, which serves our current needs perfectly well, thank you very much. And which I am delighted to share with my own children before it’s too late.
If this is “Granny Economics,” then I’m the “granniest” of them all.