so we ended up in town.
we brought his oma along in my little ‘mission’.
she isn’t used to bringing babies/toddlers out alone, not even when my brother and i were small ourselves, always saying it’s too much of a hassle. she’d always been dependent on my dad to go anywhere, since he’d always chauffered her around (don’t think they even had strollers back then, we were simply carried, especially the fat potato of a child that was me).
plus, despite her otherwise super-efficient ways in the house, when outside, she can get flustered and ‘gan cheong’ easily! like, when aniq choked on his koko crunch and spewed up part of his lunch during our little trip, i had to tell her to keep calm and giggled as she nagged at the little bub who was hardly remorseful as we stripped him and wiped up his lovingly-stained quinny, hehe. (then again, i’ve had plenty ‘practice’ with this fella’s untimely spewing and other disgusting adventures…)
only lately, since dad’s taken ill, that she’s had to undertake a lot of things herself that she didn’t need to bother with before, on top of her usual domestic duties. ‘administrative’ things like paying the bills, calling for air-con servicing or the plumber, going out to get medical supplies… of course, we try to help wherever we can, and this is where izad the handyman comes in, err, handy, changing lightbulbs or fixing power trips. such circumstances just magnifies how women need men to do certain things, and, seeing how my dad now depends on almost everything on his wife, how men need women to do certain things too. there’s like this demarcation of tasks that each gender takes up naturally as they become spouses in a household, whether they want to or not. and sometimes, when one fails, the other rises to the task out of sheer necessity.
i’ve always been wary of being too dependent on a husband, right from the beginning, having seen on occasions, the pitfalls of doing so, not just within the family, but from others as well. i definitely think i take too much for granted having a man around the house to do the ‘dirty’ jobs, so sometimes i remind myself that i’m going to have to learn how to change the lightbulbs, repair broken things, send the car for servicing, and other ‘manly’ jobs… some day. (and at the same time, he too would have to learn how to change the bedsheets, wipe the dishes, and all those tedious ‘womanly’ chores, lol!)
oh, but let’s not get started on that whole ‘cooking’ thing… this one, i surrender first. whoops! pbfftt. :p (aww, c’mon, surely we’re all allowed one tiny little achilles’ heel…)
anyway, back to our little town trip.
bapaknye aniq, man of the house, he who taught me how to plumb the toilet bowl that refused to flush and installed all the fancy-schmancy techie things so that we’re all happily wireless and connected, thank you for the ‘advanced anniversary gift’ you got for me, hor, which i bought first on your behalf, being the, ahem, ‘proactive’ wife that i am, and will later claim from you, thank you very many.
and don’t worry, you didnt waste your money on expensive overpriced chocolates. 
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