Work as an escape

Baby is due in approximately two weeks and I have no idea why the below is still pending:

1. Window grills to be installed
2. Blinds to be moved
3. New bed for baby Elephant to arrive
4. Electrical sockets to be moved

For each of the above, there is cleaning up due to drilling or some form of dust or dirt caused by the new fixture. I'm beginning to dislike/detest cleaning because my back hurts each time I need to squat to vacuum or sweep or mop. This has become increasingly more difficult to do in the recent weeks because of baby's weight and position. AND...... I only manage to clean once a week!

We've waited for more than a month for the window grill contractor to get back to us and he didn't. We called, smsed, called again and were finally directed to his office to explain what we wanted all over again. They took our window measurements more than a month ago but have now misplaced it and so have to take the measurements again today. They're only doing it today because I insisted. Then there is all the administrative work they have to do before they can give us an installation date.

I seriously couldn't care less about the above preparations because I assumed I would take care of the basics like baby's feeding needs (i.e. my nursing cushion, baby carrier for nursing in public), sleeping arrangement (just need a comfy mattress or two on the floor), my hospital bag list, my meal preparation for after delivery, my post-natal massage arrangements. It doesn't seem like I can get away with just resting and dealing with the stuff I want to deal with, and at such late timing. I dislike the anxiety it triggers because as of now, while I do not know when the grills will get done, I do know that I will have to chase the contractors, be at home to supervise their work and then do the cleaning up after the work is done.

My mind searches for some form of escape and it seems somehow, to land on work. Full time work with reasonable hours that will allow me to:

1. Employ a weekly cleaning service without having to worry about having enough money to pay them
2. End work by 6.30pm at the latest so I get to spend dinner and bedtimes with the children
3. Start saving again instead of depleting my savings
4. Buy toys for the children without having to discuss it with Vader
5. Search for fun classes for the children without having to worry about the price tag they come with
6. Get my mind off home and childcare responsibilities for a few hours a day
7. Stop worrying about Vader's finances and ultimately about money issues that are a common source of tension between couples
8. Have colleagues to lunch with (but the route I'm heading, I think I'll probably not have colleagues for a long time, perhaps forever even)

Apparently, these are all the wrong reasons to want to work full time. There isn't even a hint of being passionate about the work right? Maybe work is not my passion then. Maybe my children are, maybe being at peace with my family situation is more important than having something measureable to pursue. Maybe there are other hobbies I'd like to take up. But then, I wouldn't work at something I hate, I wouldn't choose it, especially if I wanted a long term stable income. I've never seen work as merely a time-passing activity and I resent the suggestion that I would start now, because I know I couldn't sleep well at night if I did a lack-lustre job. If I am at work, then I give my all to it (of course, this leads to other frustrations, but that's another story for another day) and I don't see this changing anytime soon. Yes, I dislike being in management because I actually enjoy the day to day operations in the system. To be asked to aspire to greater things than I am currently emotionally unprepared for brings me back to my childhood days which I hated and beg to be rid off as much as possible.  Just because I can perform well and probably can do greater things doesn't mean I would be happy to. I know one day, I will move on to bigger things, and I will be happy to do so then, but not now.

After working on my business for close to half a year and staying at home for close to year, I find myself still not at peace with these decisions. Part of my frustration stems from the fact that while I am not tied to any work schedules and so can spend more time at home, I don't get to see baby Elephant much more than when I was working long hours.

In this fed up state that I am in, these are some hard facts I've concocted (yes, the irony.... don't judge me):

1. A mother like me can never stop worrying about her kids
2. I need a predictable, stable income
3. Money will not be an issue between couples if they didn't need to rely on their spouses
4. Only a mother will understand why the house needs to be VERY clean (actually because baby Elephant notices when the floor is slightly dirtier and because he plays on it all the time and constantly picks up some piece of dirt or grain of sand - thankfully I've always been around and so he passes it to me instead of putting it into his mouth)*

*Wait! He did pick up a grain of crushed pepper once and put it into his mouth and then started wailing when he tasted it. That was the only week I didn't vacuum or sweep like a lunatic because I thought I should learn to cut myself some slack and give myself fewer anxiety attacks. I never forgave myself after that and have NEVER dared to allow the floor to get dirty again. But every week, it's a constant uphill battle. I clean, and the moment Vader comes home, his shoes bring in the dirt to about a quarter of the living room. I do a clean sweep the next morning while trying to entertain baby Elephant and keeping him away from the dirt. Then over the weekend (when baby Vader is with us all day), I constantly try to sweep the dirt away again. I've accepted that maybe I need to keep the floor clean because the issue of cleanliness for baby Elephant is important only to me. If I relaxed, I wouldn't be happy. If I kicked up a fuss, I would still be the one cleaning, plus this would make everyone unhappy.

I want to be able to say this - I am tired from work! Cut me some slack!  I just want to spend time with my children and not worry about cleaning on a weekly/daily basis (I don't mind cleaning up after meals and baths la). I want to buy this or that toy now! We can start baby Elephant's swimming classes this month and I'll pay for it, don't worry. I'm just gonna cab everywhere because even after saving half my salary, I can bloody well afford it. You like this house? Let's view it because I can pay the cash downpayment straight up. I'm at work the whole week, I actually miss sweeping the floor once a month or putting the clothes to wash and folding them up neatly! What would YOU like to have for dinner? Let me pay for it. Here's a present for you. You don't like it? What would you like? Choose and I'll buy it.

But I can't. So I'll bite my tongue and wait out this period of frustration. Let it pass soon, please.

Freshly picked!

In love with these, but not sure if I'll get them for baby Elephant, since he outgrows shoes pretty quickly.

http://freshlypicked.bigcartel.com/product/moccasins-burnt-sienna

While I'm tempted to indulge once in a while, I'm not sure his shoes make much difference to baby Elephant, only that they are comfortable and nonslip. An indulgence for the eyes then :) Good enough for me!


Precious

I asked Vader if it was heartwarming to have baby Elephant fall asleep in his arms. I couldn't make out what he said, but it was something like "no, not really...". Ha! What an alpha male. An alpha male who doesn't exercise (because of how tremendously busy he is). Still, double Ha!

Me? I just gush over such pictures! I couldn't stop watching the two of them :)

I can't believe our younger one is 1.5 weeks away from being full term! I'll have two precious little boys to carry then! So unimaginably scary but yet I can't wait :)

Inconsistent

I've been inconsistent in my references to baby Elephant. I'm not sure when I started refering to him as baby Vader, but these two are one and the same. I'll try to be consistent from now on. Silly me!

Weed!

Mama! Book! Weed!

We brought baby Vader to Borders over the weekend again. He gets excited just running around from shelf to shelf picking out books, with daddy following right behind him, just barely catching up sometimes, as he darts around. I settled down next to the book bin, and would find baby Vader running back to me with a different book each time, asking to be read to. 

I always want to remember how baby Vader puts the book in front of us and climbs into our laps expectantly, knowing he will enjoy being read to. There will come a time when he will retreat to his own little corner or room to enjoy reading in solitude. Until then, I will enjoy reading to him. When he no longer needs mum or dad to read to him, I wish for him all the joy that reading brings. That more than being just a source of information, his books will become prized possessions that father and son can share. I don't understand why Vader enjoys collecting books, although I know he enjoys reading. I'm the sort who treasures old books that have comments in the margins and are perhaps a little dog-eared. Somehow, they remind me of how I fell in love with the book, the characters or perhaps the theme of the book, almost like reading entries in an old journal. While I don't understand why Vader treats his books the way he does, something about it makes me smile, ok, I laugh sometimes. That is not to say I won't get annoyed if he treats them better than he treats his family.

So one of the must haves in my bag when going out with baby Vader is one of his books. Toys don't seem to occupy him for long, but books do, thankfully.