We are back and still tired. The dumplings were ready, eaten and digested, so are the agonies that I mentioned earlier.

We all love to hear stories about tension between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, don’t we? Too bad, the agonies generated from the dumpling making session weren’t really results of any conflict. There were just the normal stresses I experience when too many things were to take place all on the same day, plus the idea of a dirty kitchen.

Shopping for ingredients, preparing the ingredients the night before. Preparing the ingredients again, which involved frying a big bowl of onions and 4kg of glutinous rice at 6am in the morning just dampened my spirit for a good day. The idea of a greasy and oily floor, cabinets and walls was enough to make me regret the decision to learn making dumplings from my MIL. Luckily, we managed to get the entire oily frying done quickly, and the floor moped before 9am. Playgroup would be starting at 10am, still got to tidy up the place, prepare snacks. Then we have to get the dumplings cooked before 4pm, so we could have enough time to pack a dozen of them for the godma in KL.

We managed to arrive at the coach boarding area five minutes before it left. Phew!

As usual, the agonies find their sources in my own stubborn habits of wanting to do things in my usual and ideal way. That was why my MIL’s habit of using large amount of oil for frying with strong fire, resulting in oily floor, strong smell all over the house peeves me. When the washing comes, she also likes the idea of flushing with the tap fully turned, and I see strong gush of water splashing everywhere. Wet floor and waste water, adding water to oil = explosion.

I guess tension is inevitably created when we start nitpicking. I have master the number one simple and only effective tactic to counteract all my irritations - to close one eye, curse and swear to myself silently and bear with it. When peace returns to the kitchen again, all the grouses disappear like the grease. Confrontation is unneccessary. To think of it, having to get so annoyed is silly, but I know I have to go thru this process again and again for years to come.