Sunday, March 2, 2014

Week 5: The Temporary Superwoman!

24 February - 2 March, 2014 

Alright then. Where do I start?

Had things gone according to plan, this post would have been my usual laundry list of "highlights". It would have included some work on Aravindum Aarumughamum, some achievements of the little one (she can now say "Ello", "Na na" (no), "toooo" (two) and "thee" (three) and apparently takes great delight in walking with her hands on her hips in an attempt to ape her mom; I had no idea I walked liked that until she pointed it out...), some work stuff (an event I organized turned out be a great success), the new food joint we have discovered - "PODI" at Raffles City which served some really cool fusion dishes (like linguine aglio olio with curry leaves in it!) and maybe about a Malayalam movie which, in a very rare turn of events, the hubby had agreed to go to but which both of us didnt end up going to in spite of already having bought the tickets.

Instead, am just gonna write about how I feel like Superwoman at this point in time.

You see, because I make films and plays while holding on to a full time job, people tend to call me "superwoman".

But that's a joke.

I am no superwoman and the only reason I could do all those plays and films is because I always had adequate support at home. Either in the form of part time helpers who cleaned and ironed or since 2011 September, full time helpers who cooked, cleaned, did laundry and ironed and when the little one came along, looked after her too. If I had to do all of these myself like how, many of friends have to in US and Europe and other parts of the world where domestic help is scarce, I really doubt whether I could have managed all that I seemingly have.

To me Superwomen are those that maintain their homes and husbands and children and work all on their own. That does take some super power and I definitely do not have it.

So when over the weekend our helper had to return to India on a family emergency, with just one day's notice, I was stumped.

How was I to manage work and the little one?!

I think my confidence in my utter lack of homemaking and childrearing skills transformed into a full blown nightmare that I was up wide awake by 4:30am the night after the helper broke the news.

But I guess it is like learning to swim when you are thrown into a pool. Sure, there is a high chance you would drown, but you might just kick and flap around in such a way that you might successfully stay afloat. Luckily for me, it was the latter. At least, so far.

It is Sunday night now and here's what I achieved over the weekend. Without a helper.

I Cooked. Cleaned. Did all that was to be done for the little one like giving her a bath, feeding her, reading to her, playing with her, taking her on a walk, tidying up after her etc. Went shopping multiple number of times because there were always things missing in the house. Did some work and even managed a quick visit to the office. Finalized and did the subtitling for Aravindum Aaarumughamum trailer (the 1 min trailer took me 2 whole hours to get the subtitles right!). Released the trailer (yay!). Basked in all the wonderfully kind feedback that people gave on the trailer. Missed the Malayalam movie that we had gotten the tickets for because there is no way the little one would sit through that. Compensated by watching my own film's trailer multiple number of times. Felt really pleased that it was the little one who wanted to watch it multiple number of times (for some reason, she was absolutely delighted with the trailer!). Had a nice lunch with the hubby at the Professor Brawn's Cafe while the little one slept off. And now, at 11:01 pm, am very close to completing this blog post as well.

Those of you who can cook and clean and look after toddlers like it's child's play would be rolling your eyes at this. But to me, I am feeling rather good about my "achievement" and as of now, I do feel like Superwoman.

And my respect for women who do this on a daily basis have quadrupled. Or more.

Luckily for me, my mom is arriving on Tuesday morning to help with the little one since I have to get back to work soon and this working from home arrangement is not sustainable.

But till then I shall be the Temporary Superwoman and feel quite proud about it.

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