I was back in JB at my in-laws’ place on Sunday and Monday, with Yauyau, without James. This was something which I really dreaded, alone there without the husband. But needed to attend to some emergency, and couldn’t not go. Luckily I still had the baby with me.

The problem doesn’t lies with my in-laws, but with me. My father-in-law practically stays in his room all day or wanders off to do his own stuff, and my mother-in-law is the typical nice auntie, they don’t really bother about me. However, I always feel uneasy when I am there.

Firstly, I have to solve the meal time problem. I can’t expect my mother-in-law to cook and serve me. I feel very embarrassed and unfilial if I do that. However, as she is fantastic cook, I doubt my cooking will ever impress her. The kitchen is her territory, how can I invade it and meddle with her stuff. Besides that, being plain lazy, I only cook as and when I like, or when I have an urge to experiment with some new recipes, so I hate the idea of having to cook on schedule. In the past, this problem is solved rather easily. I would declare enthusiastically that I wanted to learn cooking from her and therefore observed how she cooked, or James and I will disappeared to some shopping malls at strategic time. Saved me from having to cook or being unfilial, only needed to help do the washing.

This time, the baby saved me. Being a rather choosy cry baby in an unfamiliar environment and overwhelmed by two grandparents exploding with overflowing love, she would fuss, cry or stretch out her hands signaling me to carry her. They wouldn’t want her to be so traumatized, and therefore instructed me to tend to the baby. And the grandparents would not allowed her to play alone on the floor unattended, someone must be there to catch her just in case she tumbled. Ahhh, I was the only choice. So, I was excused from the kitchen. Thanks, dear daughter.

Problem number two. As we do not return to JB often, it doesn’t seems very appropriate if I spend all my time hiding in the room lazing away. I always feel that the right thing to do is to do some chit chatting with my mother-in-law or watch TV with her. I wouldn’t want to be labeled as a daughter-in-law oblivious of her presence. Actually, I do enjoy listening to her talking (all I have to do is to pop a question now and then, and she can talk for hours….easy…hehe), I think I know all about James childhood, his relatives and his parents more then he knows them. But it could get rather tiring listening to stories for hours, and especially if the fan or the air-con is not working, and you feel sticky and itchy all over the body. If James is around, we can disappear to the mall (again, haha), or watched DVDs together, or I can pretend to be really busy doing some work on the computer with him. But he was not with me this time.

She saved me again. Being their precious grand daughter, they would tell me to bring the baby back to the air-con room for cool retreat (she was sweating mad), or bring her back to the nicely air-con room to be fed, or get her to nap (in the nicely air-con room, too). And I get to idle and relax peacefully, compliments from the baby’s blessing.