Domesticated
In a span of two weeks, I think I've managed to erase away a year of my life.
And, I'm blaming it on home-stress.
I officially became head-of-the-household when both my parents went to China for two weeks. One parent going there isn't a problem, it's even an advantage for my social life when dad is the only one leaving. But both? Man, I had to run all the errands. And waking up at 6 am everyday including weekends, sucks. The next time both of them leave, I'm coming with them.
We run a rather complicated household. One that consists of a few dozen locks on our gate, a dozen more on our main door, and a few more around the house. I had to carry two sets of keys just to get in and out of the house. My bag is heavier because of it, and I fumble every now and then figuring out which key goes to which lock. I keep telling them that if (God forbid) a fire starts inside the house, we'd all be roasted near the main door holding our keys. But my dad would usually say it's all for our own "security," and while he'd insist on calling it that, I'd call it "paranoia."
My two-week calendar of errands included buying flowers, doing the groceries, scheduling drivers, giving out salaries, locking and unlocking doors, aquarium cleaning (For one thing, I'm not attracted to pet fish, so cleaning it and not trusting the maids to do a good job is exhausting, not to mention the rashes I got from doing it.), reserving my sister's college slot, and a lot of other small but relevant stuff. Quite easy tasks comprising of tick boxes and such, at least that's what I thought.
It turned out that list of things to do took time, more time than what I projected. And a lot of other factors depended on it like schedules, people and my working hours.
Speaking of people, the first day my parents left, our househelp didn't cook dinner for us. They even woke up later than I did and were slower than usual. I am usually patient and I hate pushing people around, but it seemed like I was the one being pushed to my limit. So at times I'd have to transform into the devil just to get them to move. I even had to "confiscate" their TV as punishment for waking up late consecutively and not serving breakfast on time, the way they used to when mom was around.
I found myself grumbling during my morning coffee breaks at the office. Angsty about the morning's affair with the infamous househelps and other unreasonable people I'd have to deal with (like the newspaper boy, but that's another story). I also found it harder to leave the house for a night out, my mind wanders away and I keep thinking if I locked the doors right or if everyone's safe.
I've instanly turned into my parents.
Argh.
Fast forward to today. They're are finally back from China. I'm so relieved. Managing the house isn't going to be my job anymore. At least not until they leave again and I have no choice but to stay.
And, I'm blaming it on home-stress.
I officially became head-of-the-household when both my parents went to China for two weeks. One parent going there isn't a problem, it's even an advantage for my social life when dad is the only one leaving. But both? Man, I had to run all the errands. And waking up at 6 am everyday including weekends, sucks. The next time both of them leave, I'm coming with them.
We run a rather complicated household. One that consists of a few dozen locks on our gate, a dozen more on our main door, and a few more around the house. I had to carry two sets of keys just to get in and out of the house. My bag is heavier because of it, and I fumble every now and then figuring out which key goes to which lock. I keep telling them that if (God forbid) a fire starts inside the house, we'd all be roasted near the main door holding our keys. But my dad would usually say it's all for our own "security," and while he'd insist on calling it that, I'd call it "paranoia."
My two-week calendar of errands included buying flowers, doing the groceries, scheduling drivers, giving out salaries, locking and unlocking doors, aquarium cleaning (For one thing, I'm not attracted to pet fish, so cleaning it and not trusting the maids to do a good job is exhausting, not to mention the rashes I got from doing it.), reserving my sister's college slot, and a lot of other small but relevant stuff. Quite easy tasks comprising of tick boxes and such, at least that's what I thought.
It turned out that list of things to do took time, more time than what I projected. And a lot of other factors depended on it like schedules, people and my working hours.
Speaking of people, the first day my parents left, our househelp didn't cook dinner for us. They even woke up later than I did and were slower than usual. I am usually patient and I hate pushing people around, but it seemed like I was the one being pushed to my limit. So at times I'd have to transform into the devil just to get them to move. I even had to "confiscate" their TV as punishment for waking up late consecutively and not serving breakfast on time, the way they used to when mom was around.
I found myself grumbling during my morning coffee breaks at the office. Angsty about the morning's affair with the infamous househelps and other unreasonable people I'd have to deal with (like the newspaper boy, but that's another story). I also found it harder to leave the house for a night out, my mind wanders away and I keep thinking if I locked the doors right or if everyone's safe.
I've instanly turned into my parents.
Argh.
Fast forward to today. They're are finally back from China. I'm so relieved. Managing the house isn't going to be my job anymore. At least not until they leave again and I have no choice but to stay.