SSS #28: We Need Ice Cream!

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As I was preparing my grocery list yesterday, I was both surprised and amused to hear my younger son, Rafa, remind me: \”Mama, we need ice cream. We already finished what we have inside the ref.\”

What struck me was how he seemed to think of ice cream as a basic necessity . Indeed, when I recounted this story in the car on the way to the grocery, Luigi, my eldest son, even stated the obvious: \”Mama, ice cream is a need – not a want.\” Omigosh! Have I turned my boys into lean, mean, ice cream slurping machines?!? The undeniable answer: guilty as charged.

Notwithstanding Keith and myself\’s predisposition to diabetes (since both our families are afflicted with this disease), we find ourselves still drawn by the irresistible treat that is ice cream. Call it self-flagellation – since we are pretty sure to regret giving in to this indulgence sooner or later when both the pounds and health risks caused by our ice cream binges increase. Sigh! What are we to do?

Blame it partly on the genes – I distinctly remember my maternal grandfather, Lolo Gang, fondly tell me how they even made their own ice cream (with the traditional ice cream maker which needed salt outside the main metal container to preserve the coolness and creaminess of the treat inside – yum!) when he was a young boy. Or the fact that meals in my own house were never complete without the much-needed \”sweets\” afterwards. Want to get into the good side of anyone in our family? Chocolates and ice cream should do the trick!

Given this background, I guess I really shouldn\’t be surprised if my children also find the lure of this treat too hard to resist. Yet, the scare of insulin injections (which my paternal grandmother took when she was still alive) or the fact that 4 of 7 siblings in my Papa\’s family have diabetes should serve as grim warnings of what could happen if I don\’t nip this \”addiction\” in the bud soon… \”Everything in moderation\”, as my Papa always said, right?

Till then, while I think about how to overcome this sinful indulgence, my mocha almond fudge (or strawberry) delights await… Will power, don\’t fail me now! Bon appetit!

SSS #27: Dish Duty

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“What’s the most mundane thing you do?”

Funny how this question from one of my earlier job interviews can take on a whole new meaning given my new state of life as full-time stay-at-home wife and mother.

First of all, I was thankful then that I even knew the meaning of “mundane” (i.e., routinary) lest my Brit interviewer would’ve perceived me as totally “daft” (i.e., stupid).

“Filing” was my answer of choice then yet now… it’s a totally different ball game! Things have definitely changed. Everything in my daily workday seems mundane. After all, I do have to follow some sort of routine to accomplish (or at least try to) all the things I have to do (cooking, dusting, cleaning, checking homework, refereeing the boys’ spats and taking care of the baby, to name a few!) and to create some semblance of order in my chaotic “DD world” where everything seems to be happening all at the same time!

Back to the question. What is the most mundane part of my usual day?

Top-of-mind answer: Dish duty.

Washing the dishes is something I do at least thrice a day – breakfast, after I cook and lunch (as dinner dish duty is reserved for the hubby). I used to view this as a no-brainer and I usually just breeze through it provided there are no interruptions (i.e., Marga screaming for attention or the boys insistently wanting a piece of me for some reason or another). Yet now, I find myself actually enjoying washing the dishes (do I hear a collective gasp out there saying how low I have actually gone?).

Before you think I have sunk to the lowest depths of Domestic Diva Despair, let me explain myself. Apart from being quite enjoyable, I find dish duty therapeutic.

Each time I put away the food remnants from the dishes, pots and pans and utensils, rinse off, sponge/scrub with warm, soapy water and then rinse off again, I can’t help but find a parallel in this exercise with life in general. Why so? It’s as if dish duty reminds me that no matter how dirty, greasy or ugly it may get, there’s always something to wash away all the filth, grime and grease and to make us clean again. No matter how crazy life gets sometimes, it will always get better and we will always hopefully come out of the experience cleansed and “ready for next use”.

Am I putting too much meaning in this seemingly mindless activity? Maybe.

But in this exciting “adventure” I am now in, finding fulfillment and meaning in dish duty works for me.

How about you? What’s the most mundane thing you do?

Catch y’all later.

SSS #26: Dry Spell

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I know I haven\’t been blogging as much as I used to but it just seems that I\’m into some sort of blogging \”dry spell\”. Seems like nothing \”post-able\” is coming to mind lately and that my writing skills are as dry as the Arabian desert!

Hope y\’all will be patient with me as I attempt to overcome this writer\’s block and come up with something blog-worthy real soon.

Till then, please know that I am around and lurking… Stay tuned!