Time and time again, we go through every day or week, doing the same things, seeing the same people over and over again…we drag our heavy feet as if they weighed a thousand tons to do what we were already so used to doing…what am I saying? Routine…

Surprisingly, though many complain they are sick of what they do every day or every week, they are actually quite comfortable doing the mundane stuff, for the simple fact that it is predictable. Seriously, how many of you like New Stuff happening every single day? To get you on your feet and pump your energy up to the highest level the moment you open your eyes? And stay at cloud nine every second of the day? I guess I don’t see many hands raised.

So, many of us like to go through simple living. We are not too much like popcorns, popping at every little thing that we see, hear or feel. In fact, such things throw us off-balance, though so often we complain our lives are too boring, yet, deep inside us, we are not prepared to handle such intense excitement.

I am definitely the ambassador of the ‘many of us’ I mentioned above. Though uninteresting as it may seem sometimes, I still love routines. But again, if you have a 3 year old and 4 year old in your house 24/7, you are definitely in the training ground for extraordinary living. So I’m lucky, I have additional spice added to my plain and unattractive plate of rice to keep me away from robotic lifestyle.

Every Sunday, I get to spice up my life to the fullest when I go over to my mother-in-law’s place where all her children and grandchildren meet. It is family day for us. With the 2 old folks, 3 pairs of parents and 6 bubbly kids running around, you can hardly rest and can be quite chaotic at times.

Once a week, I am the nanny of 6 children. My father-in-law would be playing Chinese Chess with my 2nd brother-in-law; My 2nd sister-in-law would chat with me if the kids agree to spare me a few minutes, otherwise she would be watching Taiwanese dramas; My mother-in-law would be in the kitchen the whole time, whipping up yummies after yummies; My eldest brother-in-law is a sleeping-king, he sleeps right after lunch and wakes up at 6.45pm to fetch his wife back from the factory, where she works.

So with my mind constantly thinking at high speed, to entertain kids from age 1 to 7; and with my mouth always moving, be it talking, singing, laughing or eating: and with my hands carrying one kid after another, it is not difficult to imagine how impossible it is to rest on every Sunday and even easier to picture my exhausted look, slouching in the van, with my husband behind the wheels and my boys still high-spirited at the backseats, when we leave at 9pm.

Though completely burnt-out mentally and physically, with a stomach full of goodies, I still treasure every moment at my in-law’s place. I know, I am confident that when the day comes, the 60 plus, white haired, old woman and man, are no longer around, this routine will stop and maybe the closeness we have now between the rest of us, will be gone too….its sad but this day will come.

Till that day arrive, while they are still alive and kicking, I will treasure every Sunday as if it’s the last.

This post is inspired by Nuffnang, Thank You!