give thanks

Yesterday was pure chaos.

It was Saturday and also laundry day. Usually weekdays are so packed with office work that I am only left with energy to do my rounds of laundry on weekends. So right after lunch, I was rushing through the housework at a frenetic pace.

Brushed mom’s teeth and walked her to her bed.
Put the flowers into a container of water. Had to keep the gifts pretty.
Dumped the dirty laundry into the washing machine.
Took down brother’s dried clothes. Took down mine as well.
Fed the family pet.
Started packing my room and writing the cards for the night’s celebration.
Soaked some clothes to be hand washed.

And then it happened .. again. Mom refused to rest and kept whining for different things - asking for a drink, blubbering nonsense. Whatever. It just wasn’t the right time with so many things to finish and I was sweating like a crabby pig. So in between hanging the wet clothes onto the pole, I tried to pacify her and coax her to sleep.

I don’t blame her because she suffered from brain damage and loss of memory and logic, after her accident five years ago. But I was still tired from all the chores.

PAUSE. I stopped for a moment (took a deep deep breath) and gave thanks.

1. Thank God that my mom is still alive, and I can still try to show her love the way she needs.
2. Yep, laundry was a chore. But I was thankful that it meant I had a variety of clothes to dress in.
3. Ok ... I was grateful that in our times, there’s the handy invention called the washing machine. Sure helps a lot!

With those thoughts, I carried on with the rest of Saturday’s checklist. Fed mom with a milo drink, hand washed the clothes. Threw some rubbish. Washed the cups. Took a quick bath. And then rushed down to the birthday dinner in a cab.

AND I was thankful for the night’s fete with a bunch of good friends. We went on an adventure and tried out a new spot. After a taxing day, now that was the perfect way to chill out!

kate