Last week was a new milestone for me. 3 weeks after we moved here, Hubby had to travel overseas for work for a week, leaving me and the 2 kids to mind the house. I had played the role of the 'single parent' before but that was in S'pore, where I'd had some help from my parents and/or the domestic helper. So naturally, there was some apprehension on my part as well as from Hubby and even from my faraway but worried mother, that I couldn't cope. I did my best by doing some forward planning for the week, cooking and freezing some ready to eat cooked food. Hubby topped up the gas in the car and made sure I had funds to spend.
Well, one week has passed and I think I'm happy with my performance. In between feeding the kids and myself, I'd even managed a trip to a nearby shopping center and doing a round of vacuuming and laundry. I wasn't too stressed out nor tired, that was an indication to me that I'm managing ok.
Looking back, I begin to evaluate how I managed to do it (You know me lah, the super analytical one :-) whereas previously in S'pore, even with help, I've gone into 'burnt out' mode before.
Here's my analysis:
Routine
For a start, I kept the routine simple and didn't venture out anywhere except sending KK to school and to the local supermarket. KK being in school for 6 hours helps. The only problem is waking him up in the cold mornings.
Concentration
There was nothing much to distract me from my motherly duties. Television program sucks. In any case, the TV was hogged by either KK or XX, watching Spongebob Squarepants, Mr Men or Transformers, I'll be lucky if I caught 15 mins of the 6 o'clock news. On Tuesday, my laptop suddenly broke down. This practically forced me to abstain from Facebook, Gmail and Blogger and concentrate all my time and energy to the kids.
Weather
I credit the weather most for making household chores, leaping up and down the stairs and cooking feels like a breeze. Literally 'no sweat'. It's so much more pleasant to rush to pick up your son, dragging your 19 month old along, putting him in and out of the car seat, when the temperature is 15 degrees and not 30 degrees.
