It is the month of July. Singapore is gearing up for General Elections 2020 - whether it is the right call for the event to be held now remains debated. People seem to have been more settled into the new work-patterns created by the pandemic as a result.
So comfortable with things that I am sometimes worried that we are letting our guard down - just this morning as I was driving from the carpark to the foot of our housing board block, I drove past two middle-aged residents who did not have their masks on. One was going to work and seemed to have forgotten (rummaged her handbag after I pointed out her lack of mask) and the other man mumbled something about having walked his daughter to school. I asked if he wanted a mask and he shook his head.
At home, things have also changed. Since my mother had got into the unfortunate minor car-accident, I have taken over the cooking duty at home for weekday dinners (sometimes lunches too) and the laundry duties (so that my poor wife does not have to worry about it after her long day at work. I feel a little bit like a 'housewife'. No, I am sure housewives do much more and a much better job than I do!
So my day (for the past months) pans out like this. We wake early - a little after five - to get the children ready. Gasp. But the girls' schools require them to have their long hair braided (and their refusal to do it themselves) means that my wife has to do the braiding while they sit with their eyes shut, and hopefully not nodding away.
At the same time, I get water changed from their bottles and prepare their breakfast. Then I wake Felix and he gets changed too. We had let him go back to sleep previously but he has not been able to prove that he can get himself up and go to school on time, by himself. Despite it being a mere ten-minute walk from home, he has managed to get himself booked for being late thrice within the first half a year already! So we need remedial actions - and he gets dropped off in school first before we make our way to the girls' schools.
I proceed to send the girls and drop my wife off at work. Sometimes, we have the luxury to sit and have breakfast, or at least a drink in-between. I then drive home to start on my chores.
I start by getting ingredients I need for dinner out of the freezer to defrost them. Marinating the meat will take place in the afternoon.
I get rice cooked and get laundry done. Then, I get the clothes folded.
Hey, I am not complaining. Someone needs to get all these done. And I have learnt new skills and become more proficient at others (like my fried rice). I have learnt how to fold a fitted sheet (not the best job I can do, but they fit the small spaces we have for them), with the help of Youtube videos!
All these done before I start my work for the day!
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