Laundry, cooking lessons to my cook on healthy food options for my little Kaira, plans for her birthday next week, etc, etc. Phew!! the list is endless. I was still in bed counting my chores for the day, when my phone rang,
“The last day of payment of the fee is November 4. Any delay will result in additional charges.”
A drop slid down the window pane onto my Sunday cup of coffee and I looked up at the sky, wondering how I would manage this time. The last two months I had my name on the delinquent list and my daughter running under the threat of losing her school. She also missed an educational trip planned for her lot, due to a delay on our part in making the corresponding payments. Brave and understanding as she is, I was surprised not to get a single tantrum from her but her gloomy face did bother me. She once innocently told me,
“Mom, I love my school and my friends so much. You promise me I’ll never have to leave them,” and all she had was a soft smile to ease his worries.
We had been trying to make ends meet ever since Kaira’s father lost his job due to layoffs in the e-commerce sector. I was lucky to have survived his wrath, but we did see a low point in our usual lives. While other things could be addressed, the increase in academic fees was a big concern not to forget the other essentials like regular and co-curricular health checkups etc.
Hiding my thoughts behind the soft rays of the sun peeking through the clouds, I took Kaira in my arms and whispered in her ear:
“This time mom will not fail, darling. Your dreams will fly high.”
I went through my accounts, summarizing every penny we had to manage his fees, this time on time. I was wondering if there was an EMI option for this, life could become so much simpler. Regular monthly dues and could push the money towards other necessities, including an art class for Kaira. The sketches of her are to die for.
Expect! I’m thinking; Laughing at my childish self, I stuck my head back into the documents, calculating my savings.
While getting the money instead was a concern, what worried me was the fact that I would have to take a day off or rush between snack breaks to present the same thing at her school. While his father frantically tended to his freelance projects, I was immersed in work, strategizing for the success of an ongoing marketing campaign, a deciding factor in my upcoming evaluations.
And, if that wasn’t enough of a pain, the long lines at the counters and hour-long waits surely couldn’t be overcome in the strict time he had available. Also, I would need a day off to accompany my daughter to the clinic, which was on the other side of town, for the necessary vaccinations. My forehead now had distinct stress lines as I helplessly tried to find a way to make things move.
Scribbling on paper, figuring out a way through the maze, my marketing brain thought about how difficult it could be to have something like a school card similar to having credit or debit cards. For example, cashless payment of all school needs with all institutions need to do is issue cards to their vendors and administration, and parents can make sure that the card has money.
Oh! I can be really crazy sometimes…