Scribbles Galore

I have been told by a few people that I focus too much on relationships and on my past so today I thought of posting something a wee bit different. And I am sure most of you can relate to this…Household chores! Yes, the topic for the day!

These are a part of every household. No matter what age you are, your parents have always guided you or even demanded that you be in charge of certain things in the house.

In my case, it is mainly putting the clothes in the washing machine and then putting them out to dry, folding them, clearing up the kitchen, occasionally the TV room, the hall, making sure everyone has eaten (if the mother is not home) and of course doing some cooking!

My brothers usually are in charge of going to the kade to buy bread or some last minute stuff, bathing the dog, locking the gate, doors etc and taking out the garbage, to name a few.

One thing I have noticed about my mother is that she has a distinct way of doing things. So she usually has a lot to complain about. The laundry is one of them! I remember one morning when she woke me up and it was almost like a dream and the huge thing was that the washing powder had been put into the wrong compartment of the machine. You see, there are three sections and each one is for a different type of wash. So, the previous night I had put the soap into the wrong compartment! He he… And this was brought to my attention when I was woken up the morning of my driving test!!!

Then of course comes the drying of the clothes! Now that is always a lot of fun to watch my mother do. She has this system where you start from the middle of the clothes wrack and go to the ends. And you must always remember, that if you start from the left, the next has to be the right and then the left… etc etc. Another important note is to gasanna the clothes so that they have no wrinkles when you put them on the rack! Yes, of course these are practical thing to do, but every time I get to it, the procedure is repeated! I guess that is a motherly thing! Repetition!!!

One of the biggest battles we have is when folding the clothes! It is like world war three!!! It is hard to even explain the system. Pants and shorts have a certain way of being folded. T-shirts and shirt have another system and the best is how my dad’s handkerchiefs are folded. It has to be folded in half three time and before it is folded each time, it has to be ironed! Even the underwear have a system. I wish I could explain in words but it is really not easy. The fun part is actually painting a mental picture of how the mother and daughter battle it out coz I have one system and she has another!

Keeping the house neat and tidy… even for that, of course there is a ‘system’! I will take for example an incident, which happened recently. My brother and I were in charge of cleaning and tidying up the house coz she had to handle the cooking as we were having a dinner at home for a few friends. After she had finished with the cooking, she wanted to have a snooze so we went on with the work and even managed to finish with a bit of time to spare, to have a short nap as well. Once she awoke, I heard a huge ‘ha-ho’. My brother and I both ran to the hall, downstairs to check what it was all about, and to see, the cushions and the plant pots were not in place! Or at least the way she wanted… So our Ammie dear placed them the way she wanted and she was content. My brother and I both laughed it off as another one of our mother’s household eccentricities!

My father on the other hand is not always into getting the house work done coz by the time he comes home from work, one of the few things he looks forward to is dinner, the newspapers and if it’s Monday, ‘jana handa’ and then of course, bed. But on Sundays, or some Sundays, he gets into a fit and starts cleaning up. Now, he insists that he has a “method in his madness” and he starts cleaning. He also insists that the three kids get involved and at the end of it, we are left exhausted coz he ends up creating a HUGE mess in the process of cleaning up. Which makes it much longer to finish our duties! That is my dad for you!

I must admit that I have got a bit of both worlds when it comes to keeping things spick and span. I have to also confess that I am a ‘neat freak’. When my friends come over they have a whole list of rules to abide by so that they will not disrupt my room and how it is organized. Everything has its place. And everything is arranged in height order or in order of how often I use things. Important: No slippers in the bathroom… as the bathroom floor will get muddy and I hate wet bathroom floors. So I have a separate pair of slippers for the toilet. Everything, including my bed has a particular position.

I know, I sound like a chick who has escaped from an asylum… but that’s me… the crazy flicker!

I guess we all have a certain way of doing things in order to maintain the balance in our small worlds.

Our parents may come across as crazy when they insist you do things “this way” or “that way” but, hey look at what became of me… I think I have got all their freaky qualities in one! Ha ha… J