Going Home

March 2009

In the 8 years we’re here, we’ve gone back home only twice and it was for special occasions – my BIL’s wedding and for Dad and Mom’s respective 70th birthdays. There was no special occasion for this forthcoming trip. 5 days to go! I still pinch my cheeks. I still ask Am I crazy? Going home is a whole production. The expensive plane fare compels us to stay a minimum of 4 weeks. That means Stefan has to miss school that long, Struan misses daycare without refund, and Sherwin and I miss work unpaid. Boohoo! And because we don’t go home often, we make side trips locally and within Asia. The trip expense alone will have already ripped off our pockets before we put some pocket money.

Besides the school- and work- related responsibilities, i.e. turnover of tasks and curriculum to miss, the logistics every trip is lengthy and complicated. We map everything down to the nitty gritty. You’ll be surprised at the checklists we make – for Before, During and After the trip, the To-Dos and the To-buys, the calendars we print out for scheduling rendezvous, and a timetable of the 12 hours leading to the flight.

July 2006

The anticipation for the trip is usually long. It could span from 6 months to 3 seasons, from the time the trip decision was conceived (vacation leave approved) right to leaving. But in between, life goes on. There’s work & school, and the everyday with the kids, meals to cook, dishes to wash, house to clean… right to the very day.

Aside from meeting family and friends, the main purpose of this trip is to recharge my batteries, a.k.a. R&R. Mums don't really get days-off, do we?  So I will engage in a total SPA – head to toe, including hair and nails =]. I will eat and be merry and shop ‘til I drop. Carpe diem! But there is nothing more that I am looking forward to on this vacation than the respite from chores and a full devotion to the kids and myself. There is no more excuse to not spend time with the kids as there are no more meals to prepare & dishes to wash. The trip to me is the Armageddon of housework.

The very moment we leave the house for the airport, I’ll be singing “Salagagoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!” Cinderella’s rags will turn into a beautiful gown, the pumpkin into a golden carriage and the rats into coachman. “Put 'em together and what have you got, bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!” But I shall remember that the spell would be broken upon our return.

That will be a different story. For now, I still have 5 days to go.  I am slipping into vacation mode at an exponential speed. My manager said, “much awaited eh?” I can’t wait to say, Hasta la vista!