There is a pleasure in making love with one’s husband on a bitterly cold afternoon that is unmatched by any other activity in the world—especially when you are newly married and have been blessed with a handsome, deeply loving husband.
Young women who have recently tied the knot will be the ones to truly understand this sentiment.
I got married in November. I had found a wonderful family—a loving husband, a sister-in-law who felt like a close friend, and two elder sisters-in-law.
And my husband? He was so romantic that he would initiate intimacy whenever and wherever the opportunity arose. He used to say that such acts deepen the bonds of love and trust between a couple.
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure about the “love and trust” part, but having a romantic husband certainly makes life a whole lot of fun!
It was the month of January, and the cold was biting. Around one o’clock in the afternoon, after finishing lunch, everyone retired to their respective rooms to rest.
My husband and I did the same. We started chatting casually, but as everyone knows, in the wintertime, a conversation can take unexpected turns and lead to places you never anticipated!
That is exactly what happened with us. Just as things were about to heat up, my mother-in-law called out to me loudly.
I immediately opened the door and stepped outside.
She said, “The dishes are still lying around; that’s not a good omen. Go and get some rest now, but make sure you’re more mindful in the future. I’ll clean them up myself right now.”
I replied, “Oh, Mom, please don’t bother; let me do it.”
But inwardly, I was fuming, thinking: *What a perfect moment that was—and Mom had to go and ruin it by calling me out for something so trivial!*
Gradually, as I settled into my role as a daughter-in-law, my mother-in-law began to find fault with everything I did. Her greatest source of frustration seemed to be any perceived delay on my part in completing household chores.
This was despite the fact that I always performed my duties according to my own schedule and pace.
Over time, she began voicing these complaints to my elder sisters-in-law as well.
One day, everyone had to leave for work, and somehow—I still don’t know how it happened—breakfast and packed lunches weren’t ready by the time they needed to leave. Upon hearing this, my mother-in-law scolded both me and my husband.
That evening, when my husband returned home, I recounted the incident to him. However, instead of sympathizing, he actually turned on *me*, saying, “You really need to be more organized. Office timings are non-negotiable and cannot be messed with.”
Slowly—and I still don’t know how it happened—the evening meal, which used to be ready by 8:00 PM… It was getting close to 11:00 AM by the time things finally got moving.
Mother’s anger would often flare up at my sister-in-law and me, as she would scold us, saying, “The moment you two arrived, you completely disrupted the entire household routine!”
After eating at 11:00 AM, it would often be past 1:00 PM by the time we actually managed to fall asleep.
Consequently, waking up in the morning became a struggle, and we felt too lazy to prepare breakfast. My sister-in-law and I would constantly be caught in a scramble, trying to figure out how to whip up a meal quickly with the least amount of effort.
The frustration stemming from this situation began to manifest in my husband and his elder brother as well; yet, we simply couldn’t figure out where exactly we were going wrong.
Gradually, the peace within the home began to erode. The very man who had been so loving during our courtship and wedding now answered every question with irritation and annoyance.
Then, one day, things reached a breaking point.
My mother-in-law told both of us, “Hand over your mobile phones to me.” We were furious; although I held my tongue, my sister-in-law spoke up immediately:
“Mom, please let this remain a home; don’t turn it into a prison!”
She turned a deaf ear to our pleas, confiscated our phones, and declared:
“From now on, you will only have access to your phones between 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM.”
We found our mother-in-law’s attitude to be deeply offensive.
Two days later was Raksha Bandhan. When I went to tie a *Rakhi* on my brother’s wrist, I confided in my mother and father and told them everything that had happened.
My mother and brother were outraged. My brother fumed, “I’m going to confront her right now! By what right does she confiscate someone’s personal belongings?”
My father, however, calmed my brother down, saying, “You aren’t mature enough yet to speak to your sister’s mother-in-law in such a manner.” Then, pulling me aside into a corner, my father spoke to me gently: “Daughter, your mother-in-law is much older than you. Just try listening to her for once; after all, there might be some truth to what she is saying.”
I returned home, and the very next morning, I woke up early, prepared the meals, served everyone on time, and completed all the household chores.
It took nearly a month for my sister-in-law and me to finally realize *why* we had been moving so slowly.
We finally understood why tasks that used to be completed by 8:00 AM were now dragging on until 11:00 AM.
The culprit behind it all was the mobile phone—and specifically, the most insidious feature of all: those short-form videos that keep you hooked, watching one after another, endlessly… Time slips away without you even realizing it.
I also noticed that ever since I stopped watching “Shorts,” my ability to focus on things improved significantly; I began grasping concepts and ideas much more quickly.
And the biggest change of all? Previously, I wouldn’t finish all my household chores until 2:00 PM; now, I’m done by 12:00 PM.
It took both my sister-in-law and me some time to fully grasp this reality, but now—a year later—waking up in the morning without immediately checking our phones has become a healthy habit in its own right.
Perhaps my father understood this all along; that is why he so gently suggested that I simply try doing as my mother-in-law advised—just for a few days.
The constant bickering and friction that used to plague our home have completely ceased.
Just think about it: what a dangerous thing these “Shorts” truly are!
The predicament I found myself in is the very same one facing every young girl and boy today—all because of this obsession with Shorts and Reels.
A task that should take a mere 10 minutes ends up taking two hours to complete.
If you, too, are struggling to manage your household effectively—or if you feel that time simply slips away too fast, leaving you feeling unproductive all day long—then…
Try giving up Reels for just one month.
They are a “sweet poison”—slowly, from the inside out, they consume both our minds and our time.
I hope that sharing this personal experience will prove beneficial to many other homemakers out there.
Please leave a comment and let me know: have *you* also noticed how watching Reels causes time to vanish without you even realizing it?
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