Week 27 - Cleaning & celebrating

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“Happiness is like jam. You can’t spread even a little without getting some on yourself.” Anonymous

This week, we (or Raph mostly) coordinated a major spring-cleaning at our place. We had the following mission statements: 1. Clear the study room
2. Shift the study room to the back room and vice-versa 3. Clear the living room
4. Shift in the TV cabinet and buffet table; get rid of old fridge
5. Begin set-up of baby roomWe started with the study room where Raph moved the 100 over files and folders I’ve accumulated from my teaching days and masters work to the floor for me to sort and scrap. Since we ‘graceful’ 6 month-ers are encouraged to sit cross-legged on the floor, this was an ideal time to practise this position with some productivity. Browsing through my teaching files brought back some happy memories…quite tempting to go back to teaching again after this. I’d welcome the fixed hours but NOT the frenzied marking.

By the end of the day, we sifted and got rid of a lot of stuff we didn’t want anymore though with a lot of haggling involved! It was quite exhausting so I took a nap and when I woke, voila, the cupboard and bed from the back room had gone to the study room and the PC, work tables and files in their place. I also had a sweaty, grubby, sexy-looking man mopping the floor then…grrrr

The next day, the TV cabinet and buffet table arrived and we sent the old TV cabinet and fridge moving too. The old fridge is a joke as we enticed the lorry driver to charge us less since he could see the fridge for RM100 or so. He caught the bait but luckily we didn’t get scolded by him coz the magnetic strip on the door was ruined as we didn’t keep the electricity running. He didn’t get his RM100 and neither did we get our discount!!! Lesson learned for future fridges…

Next was to organize all the rubbish scattered in the hall into the various drawers of the TV cabinet and also stuff spilling out of the kitchen into the buffet table. That took us about half a day and then it’s rest again before preparing for a Deepavali visit. This visit put us in touch with one couple who’d been married as long as us and were trying to have a child. They were very excited to see my blooming belly and asked me lots of questions about the pregnancy (even the husband!). I knew they were trying for 3 years or so and was glad to answer all their questions.

We went to their house next on Hari Raya where Raph and I were caught in a guessing game as there was a baby in their house. The baby’s clothes were the same material as the lady’s but we thought an aunt and niece could dress alike for fun but then when we talked about pregnancy and babies again, their statements were peppered with, “And then we took him to the doctor…” and “We tried that but he didn’t respond so well…” etc. We were seriously puzzled and had a slightly difficult time chatting with them although there was no problem with enjoying the nasi himpit, rendang, serunding, kuih bahulu, cookies and other goodies

Later, the wife sat down with me and the baby and confided that they had adopted this adorable boy. That solved the mystery and I was really touched by how much this incredibly nice couple loved children! They were really the prized 1st time parents as they fussed over him like a little king and shared their worries whenever he sneezed, coughed and developed a dark tinge on his lips. They were upset when the paediatrician told them not to worry and even went to seek 2nd and 3rd opinions! This baby is so blessed to have such loving parents and I know that they will be a very happy family. God bless them!

The hall looks more organized now that the new furniture is in with plenty of drawers and shelf space to stuff our junk in. And since we unearthed the Christmas tree during the move, we decided to put it up too! It looks quite nice in the corner as it’s SO green…next, we’ll need lights. Christmas seems more special this year even though the baby will get to enjoy it later but I’m definitely in a very Christmassy mood now

We loved the beginnings of the baby room as this is a nice, sunny room compared to the dark, poky room we had subjected our poor guests to previously. I’m quite impatient to put up the curtains but will have to wait till we’re all moved in. Sigh!