Yesterday, Papa came home at half past 1 pm. I cooked lunch, one of his favorites, sinigang na baboy. But when I was about to cook rice, I saw it wasn't enough. So I had to go out and buy and it was raining very hard. Before I could though, Papa was home. It's ok... he's not one of those guys who would throw a fit if things didn't come as expected...



Nothing really extraordinarily bad ever happens in Singapore... they don't have earthquakes, I haven't heard of a fire happening since I came here a year ago, and there are no storms. But when you brave the rain, you still get wet... hehehe. I donned my denim jacket, picked up my umbrella (which I really hate bringing if I'm going to the supermarket... you'll have to carry everything in one hand until your biceps freeze while you hold up the umbrella with the other and still end up wet anyway), flew a kiss to Papa and went my way.

I only intended to buy rice (the most urgent item), some lettuce and ground meat. Then I remembered it's Chinese New Year and the shops might be closed until Sunday and Papa will be home with nothing to do. So I thought of buying some nuts and chips cause he might want some TV snacks, and of course, I had to get a refill of his current favorite, oolong tea. At home, I already had some beef franks and ham in case he'd want a sandwhich, some fruits and some cans of soup. I was all stocked up for a weekend of hibernation. Of course, as these things go, we could always call for a pizza...:)

I had 3 bags of groceries when I was done. The question now was, if I will be able to carry it all in one hand, my umbrella in the other, my shoes helplessly under water, the water coming up to my calves and the rain drumming down. Well, there was only one way to find out. So I braved it... the worst thing that could happen to me was I'd get wet... so what?

I could have called Papa on the handphone and asked for help... or... I could have asked him to come with me in the first place. But none of that occurred to me. I know he would have obliged if I'd asked... in fact, he offered to come. But I wanted him to rest.

I grew up in a household where both my parents worked. And although it wasn't such a bad thing, and I know my mom did a good job working and mothering us at the same time... still, there were times when we'd had to come home from school to an empty house, learning from a very young age that we couldn't call out 'Mom!' cause she wouldn't be there... we learned to make our own snacks, take care of our own things and deal with our own difficulties.

In time, it tought us independence and responsibility... so I guess we turned out better adults because of it. But having been done with being a kid, the picture-perfect 'coming home from school afternoons' when Mom would be home, apron strings tied snuggly on her waist, hands drying on a towel, ready with a sandwhich or some cookies and a glass of cold drink, asking how school was, would forever be a dream.

Since we got here to Singapore, the most that I ever had a passion for was to set Papa free of every mundane task there is around the house. I wanted him to concentrate with work... it was a new job and I wanted him to give 100% of his time to learn everything he can in the shortest time possible, to equip himself with whatever he needed to do a good job of it... and to shine. So I start my days boiling water for coffee, preparing Papa's things from his underwear to his watch so he doesn't forget anything... spend the rest of the day taking care of laundry, cleaning the house and preparing food... doing everything to let him know and feel that he wouldn't ever have to call out...'Anybody home?!'

On the other hand, I guess I am living my dream now... only with the roles reversed. Given time, life does have a way of compensating.