The Road to 40 Day 111/365: Housekeeping and Playdate Countdown

Vino has a playdate arranged for today, but first, I had to clear all that stuff at home.

Last week, Vino and his friend Lev approached me to ask if they can have a playdate. I said I’ll try to coordinate with his parents, and we agreed he can come to our house on this day. Since then, the two of them apparently had a countdown for when this day would come.

I think he was very much excited for this day to come, as he approached me in the kitchen while I was still prepping stuff.

He enjoyed getting to school early, so I hope he makes a habit of waking up early like this.

We took a cab today, as per usual. We theoretically could take the bus and get there on time, but he wanted to get to school early, so we’ll do as we normally do.

Library day was yesterday, so he returned his heavy book and exchanged it for two smaller ones. The bag isn’t as heavy now as it was the previous days, so he asked to walk up by himself.

He kicks his ball as he walks, and sometimes he gets so immersed in it that he doesn’t really look back anymore when he’s upstairs, unlike before. 

I went home to start doing housekeeping stuff that Che and I talked about before she left.

I started with cleaning the storage room. After clearing out the bottom part and deciding those are the owner’s, I thought about stacking up the luggages.

In this process, I remembered I had to clear out Che’s luggage first so I could keep it with the others. I took out her laundry and grouped the organizer bags together. The clean laundry went to the sofa for folding, while the rest went to the washing machine.

While doing this, I saw that I haven’t washed the dishes from the morning preps and breakfast. I popped the clothes in the washing machine and washed the dishes.

At this point, I have started about five things and accomplished nothing. I had to focus and get things done before moving on to the next.

I’m not diagnosed with ADHD, but I feel like this series of events is proof that I may have it.

My process isn’t perfect, and I did finish some things, but there are still things to be done. But it was almost 2:18pm – my magic bus timing – so I had to go.

As sunny as it was in the morning, it was pouring out by the time I went down.

I had an umbrella in my bag, but I brought another one just to be sure. I don’t think my bag umbrella could have kept me dry from that rain.

However, Singapore being Singapore, the sun was scorching hot by the time I reached Vino’s school.

I picked the boys up and we booked a cab going home.

Both boys chose burgers over pizza. I thought about cooking for them, but decided not to roll the dice on Lev’s preferences and just go for a sure thing.

Once they reached home, they played on their tablets. I thought I was going to play 99 Nights with them, but Vino insisted that they play it by themselves. At least I was able to eat and watch Running Man while they played.

I always tell Vino that the way he acts towards others should be reflective of how he wants people to treat him. Yes, it’s the “do unto others” mantra, but more his language.

Given this, I snapped photos of the boys whenever I could so that his mom knows what’s going on.

She was disappointed that they were on their tablets, but personally, I get it. We were raised in a generation where “play” meant something physical.

However, in this day and age, kids gravitate towards their gadgets. I gravitate towards my gadget. I had drinking sessions that ended up with a bunch of us playing Mobile Legends on our own phones.

There’s a certain enjoyment when playing gadgets in the same space. But of course, I do have to respect their preference for how the kids should be playing.

I told them they should play something else instead of their tablets if they wanted to have more playdates in the future.

They settled for a couple of boardgames and some indoor football.

Around 7pm, Lev’s dad came by. I learned he is Dutch, while his wife was Russian. We talked a bit while the kids tried buying more playing time.

He sounded a bit stern, but I like how he reminds Lev about his manners as they prepared to leave.

Vino and I had dinner after they left, and finished close to 9pm. I had him get ready for bed while I cleared the dining table.

I stepped into the shower and came out with Vino already knocked out.

I guess starting the day early helps him sleep earlier than usual.

While I could sleep earlier as well, I tend to stay up until about 12 or 1am. Over the past couple of nights, I had episodes late at night where my head felt light or heavy, with a rush of blood making me feel like I’m drowning again.

I feel like I’ve overcome this already, so I’m not sure what triggered it these past couple of nights.

Because of it, I chose to just play or watch something until I have no choice but to sleep instead of drowning in unnecessary thoughts again.

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