I'm mentally drained after a full day at work. Even on Friday, it doesn't help when everything else at work is urgent and important to clear before Monday.
Oh and I have not had a lived-in helper for the last 9 months, and that's a feat for me.
I'm terribly un-domesticated. I prepare breakfast and the occasional weekend meals. I do weekend laundry, clean the toilets, sweep (and maybe mop) the floor. I send the little one to weekend Islamic class and swimming class. I make sure I checked his communication book and if there is any school projects that are needed to be done in the weekend. I tried to iron their school uniforms if I could. I tried to catch up on conversations with my children but sometimes it sounds like 'business talk' rather than 'play talk'. Time is so limited and precious that in the end the conversations are all about practical things rather than about anything. All these are making my only weekends full of housework, full of fatigue and full of frustrations and grumpiness. Sigh.
I'm not trying to complain but trying to put things into perspective. I'm trying to reflect on my life and weigh the things that's important, least important and totally unimportant.
As a ftwm or any mom, having additional help is always great. All we want is a simple temporary life that could be savoured with sanity. And have the time to smell the coffee and roses, read, and wonder, soak in the sun & fun...
It's good that the Indonesian minister, due to dignity, do not want to send their women overseas as maids. I applaud his move but rather seeing it from just the dignity angle, I hope he has a masterplan to train and provide domestic jobs that uplift their lives and dignity.
For families like me who wish not to have a lived-in helper, sad to say that we also need a lot more cash to outsource the mundane tasks.
An integrated under-one-roof hub but operated by different agencies or business owners might help working parents like me.
A hub that contains the following:
-infant care & child care
-kindergarten
-nearby primary schools
-before and after school care
-active seniors club who can assist in ferrying children to and from primary school
-babysitting for those in kindys or odd hours
-breakfast takeaways
-dinner tingkat
-laundry and ironing service
-frozen foods for the weekends
-part-time home help
-supermarket
Etc
And would be good if companies can be more family friendly without making the employee feels bad about not taking his or her laptop home for the weekend.
