I should perhaps change the name of the blog as soon moving to Brunei and becoming a stay at home mom. Kinda excited with the prospect of running the household in complete sanity as opposed to now, running it with complete chaos . Making breakfast for Joe and the kids, then sending off little Em to her school while little Baby Ai is sound asleep in the stroller. Bliss!!
Knowing me, do expect nothing of that sort.
I have come to terms with the fact that I am hopeless in housekeeping, we had a house helper when I was growing up, infact we had several helpers as during that time house helpers were abundant. Local ladies, many from the rural areas were more than willing to work as house helpers (they are sometimes called maid, but I personally do not like the term). Leaving their kampungs to work in towns means bringing more income to the household, but to some, the prospect of working in offices or factories are downright challenging. Malaysia was pretty much an innocent nation back then. So, the best bet was to work as house helpers. Our Kak En stayed with us for 25 years, from the moment she was in her early 30s till a stroke attack at the age of 60 plus forced her to call it quit.
So I told Joe, look for house helper if you still want a sane wife at the end of the day.
We're leaving Malaysia next month. There's a part of me that is feeling pretty sad. It's not that I have not left home before. I left for England when I was 18 and enjoyed myself tremendously for the 6 years that I was there. I know of Joe's sense of wanderlust. Infact, that was one the things that I found very attractive in him. His desire to go places. And I relish at the fact of raising my children in an environment that is different from their usual one. Even though it's Brunei. And I get to look after my kids, which is something I"ve always wanted to do.
Yet, I still feel sad that I'm leaving. My family. My mom would come and visit often, that I know. She can't bear to be away from her two little monsters for too long. Especially Em. Whom she favours more than her own children! It's not gonna be the same as seeing her every two weeks like right now. And my brothers. We live across each other currently and on some days, we annoy the living hell of each other, yet, they would come to my aid be it anytime of the day and I love them to bits and they know it.
I will miss our home. This intermediate terrace plonked in the middle of Shah Alam. My neighbours are horrible people who like to park anywhere they please, so, yeah, not gonna miss them, but a home is still a home. We had our 1st child there, we had her birthdays, her milestones were marked in that little terrace house . My dad's last few weeks were spent at my house, I entertained and looked after him in that house. We had our father-daughter' s chat there, in front of the telly. I hugged him there and told him he would live to see Em graduates varsity. He laughed off and said 10 years is good enough. He didn't live for another ten years, but the memories I had with him there will forever be in my heart. As for it being our marital home, we had our happy moments there, as much as it had witnessed Joe and I fighting over trivial things that only married couples know. We perhaps had conceived both Em and Ai in that house. 2 out of the 3 toilets are broken and the walls have cracked- as most houses in Malaysia- and it has Em's drawing everywhere. The kitchen is crowded and the kitchen door is jammed, Yet, it was ours.
I haven't packed a thing. Okay, so, yeah, that is more because of me who likes to procrastinate, but partly, as much as I wanna say "Helloo Brunei!" I also find it very hard to say "Goodbye, KL".
