A Mother's Tale

It's been almost a week since I last wrote a post. And it's not because I don't have anything to post. I've just been swamped with work and my back is still acting up on and off so much so that I can't sit in front of the computer for too long. I've gotten some strong pain killers for it so that helps a little.

Anyways, that really isn't what I wanted to talk about today. I didn't really want to get online today cos the pain in my back is a little extra painful today but I just had to get online and rant a little.

I'm a person who takes great care with my stuff. It doesn't matter what it is but I'll take great pains to keep my things as clean and as new as I possibly can. In fact I'm so particular about things to the point of being obsessive at times. It bugs the heck out of wifey sometimes. But then she's like me too at times. We're both very particular and passionate about our things.

Take for instance my laptop. I'm so fussy with it that I'm forever cleaning it and warning the boys to stay as far away from it as possible. I'll always keep an eye on them whenever they get anywhere near it. The same goes for the desktop that wifey uses. I'm always telling the boys to stay away from it. And I'm forever cleaning it and dusting it.

The same goes for the stuff we have in the kitchen. The microwave we bought is as new as the day it came out from the shop. Whenever it's used, I'll always give it a complete head to toe wipe down. The thermal pot looks as new as the day it came from the shop. And everyday, I'll wipe it down after refilling it. That's how obsessive I am with things.

Even the kitchen sink faucet is still shiny and gleaming like as if we bought it only yesterday. Wifey and me ALWAYS clean everything we use immediately after using it. Even the boys get pissed off at us from all the times we scream at them to keep the place clean and to be careful when using things.

We believe if you take care of something it'll last very much longer. We value all our stuff cos we worked hard to buy them all. But what do you do when someone in the house doesn't give two hoots about the things you take great pains to maintain and keep properly. And what do you do when that someone happens to be your own mother.

Before I go on, let me say that I have every respect for my mom as the woman who brought me up and all that but that doesn't mean I have to tolerate or accept all the negative things that she does that irks me. I'm a very vocal person these days and don't hesitate to speak out when something bothers or annoys me. I used to be a quiet and shy person but not anymore.

Imagine coming back home to find the entire kitchen floor covered in oil that Petronas or Shell would be more than happy to pay me for drilling rights. Or imagine, when you're about to have dinner, you grab a spoon or fork and find it covered in food or oil that hasn't been washed off. Or plates that still have food remnants on them. And it's not like it's the first time these things have happened.

Then imagine opening the lid of the washing machine to find powdered detergent smeared and stuck all around and on the machine. Not to mention all over the floor. Or imagine opening the microwave oven, the very same one you spent loads of time keeping as clean and new as possible, only to find the insides splashed with curry stains or whatever that was recently microwaved. What about looking at the stove all covered with whatnot's that you can tell just by looking at the dirt remnants what was cooked recently.

Then there is the cigarette (yes, my mom smokes) burns marks on cabinets and cushion covers and ashes strewn here and there (sometimes even inside the fridge or microwave oven and on the washing machine) which in itself poses a fire hazard. I'm not even going to go into the part about the dents, scratches and chips that I find on stuff like the washing machine, microwave, fridge, etc, etc, etc. It pains the heart to see stuff you painstakingly maintain get damaged like as if it didn't cost money. Hard earned money at that!

I'm not being picky or fussy mind you but it does get to me. Awww come on Nick, she's your mom, you might say. She's old and maybe cannot see properly to clean up well enough, you might say. Just for info, she isn't all that old or frail or whatever. She's an active member of the neighbourhood church community. She's capable of going out on her own and she's active around the neighbourhood so what I cannot fathom is why she can't be a little more careful with things and stuff around the house.

I've tried talking to her nicely and respectfully on so many occasions. To be truthful I've even raised my voice at her on a few occasions (hey, I'm only human) I try to be very tactful with the way I tell her things cos she can be pretty sensitive and say things like I'm picking on her all the time when in true fact I keep quiet most of the time.

In fact, both wifey and me let her do what she wants at home but when you come back and see all the stuff she does, it drives us up the wall. There have been occasions that we end up arguing with each other because of keeping everything inside (yes, as surprising as it may seem, wifey and me do have arguments too).

Imagine coming home tired after work and having to clean up the place again even though it was just cleaned by wifey in the morning. God, sometimes I feel like screaming my lungs out! I just had to vent here cos if I keep it inside too much it's going to drive me insane. Besides my back hurts like hell today and coming home to find the washing machine caked with laundry detergent didn't help my mood all that much.

Do you think I'm going overboard with this? Am I just being a grouch and too darn fussy about things? All that said and done, she's still my mother but that doesn't mean I have to keep quiet about things I feel strongly about. As wifey would always say, if we don't speak up, people will think that we're okay with everything they do and step all over us. I agree with her 100%! I hope when I grow old, I don't get on my kids nerves like this.

Ok, I better log off now cos wifey actually banned me from sitting here too long because of my aching back.
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