The one thing that we’ve missed a lot, maybe most of all in this past one year, is hugs. The need for social distancing has completely wiped out the feeling of a warm embrace, and here’s why that’s such a bummer. It’s been scientifically proven that hugs help lower blood pressure, relieve stress, alleviate fears and allow an elevated feel good factor, to say the least. So life kind of hit rock bottom when a killer-virus also got added to the list of things you could pick up from a hug!

This is precisely why the weighted blanket, recently introduced by The Linen Company and purchased by yours truly for PKR 6999 on The National Hugging Day (January 21), came as a Godsend. The National Hugging Day, by the way, is celebrated in parts of USA, Canada, Germany, Australia and Russia but is needed all over the world right now. This blanket has come to Pakistan for the first time, and I say it qualifies as The Halal Hug.

So, I got a message in my inbox (since I buy all my bedlinen from The Linen Company, significantly abbreviated TLC, as in Tender Lover Care) and this new product - the weighted blanket – was pitched to be the only thing I needed to get affection-starved me through 2021. Maybe it was the day, maybe the fact that I was recovering from Covid-19 and had been locked away in the doghouse for two weeks, but it clicked. I had to have it. And you can never have enough blankets, no matter how secure you are!

Three days after an efficient online transaction, a prim and proper white TLC carton arrived. I opened it. I tried to lift the blanket out with one hand. I couldn’t. Was it stuck to the bottom of the carton?

It wasn’t.

A weighted blanket weighs between 12 to 20 pounds and should ideally be no more than 10 percent of your body weight. This one I bought was just that and had one side of white fleece and the other a plush Sherpa, providing warmth, comfort and an OMG exclamation for happiness. It is available in three colours, of which I chose the slate grey. I would’ve opted for white had the fear of my cat being invisible on it not posed a problem. He has a tendency to plant himself on duvets and bedspreads. (He is a little grey these days because we don’t bathe him in winter.)

Available online, thus saving you the inconvenience of having to visit the store, the weighted blanket arrives at your doorstep in no time. It’s apparently the in thing these days, very popular amongst people with stress and anxiety disorders, which is most of us. I often develop a restless leg when working; the blanket fixed that. I also felt weak and exhausted after my brush with Covid; the blanket took care of that too. Stain and wrinkle resistant, it also addressed my hygiene OCD.

One has to count blessings, especially at a time when good news is sparse. And retail therapy does bring joy, especially when you order something online with very little expectation, and it surprises you.

Keep watching this space for more online ventures that you can take our word for.