The Kitchen Sink

Who would've thought I'd find refuge in the most unlikely place--the wall fronting my kitchen sink! I was surprised myself, come to think of it.


Today just wasn't my day. It didn't start out right and it didn't go well. The kids were having a field day all over the house while I had to meet my quota of processed mall links for the day. Aggravatingly enough, no matter how many times I mentally pep-talked myself that "attitude is altitude", I honestly could not muster enough motivation to turn things around.


Did I hear someone ask, "Have you tried praying?" Yes, I did. But it was more like frantic 911 calls every hour to the heavens to have mercy on me and grant some divine intervention. I was thinking about being bodily whisked away to some far flung island with white-sand beach, a hammock between two palm trees, soft sea breeze and quietness. NOT!


Divine intervention came in the form of my on-autopilot-body pouring hot water into a mug of instant coffee+milk+sugar, pulling up a chair against the wall facing my kitchen sink and clinging on to the steaming mug for dear life. The wall was a surprisingly comforting buffer that partially separated the kitchen from the rest of the house. I could still hear the kids but they couldn't see me and vice versa. I even put up my feet on the counter top and watched the slow trickle of water from the leaky faucet.


Miraculously not one of my spawns decided to take a peek and see where I had disappeared to. And for a few minutes I had some me-time. Not what I exactly had in mind every time I craved for some me-time but pleasantly surprising that it did the job to settle me.


Hey, my God is the God of the impossible so He could've easily taken me to my dream me-time spot on the beach at the blink of an eye. However, that divinely sponsored vanishing act would've frightened the kids so He gave me the most practical spot available. *sigh* Okay, maybe next time...

Moisturize...moisturize...moisturize

I already have dry skin and to have my hands constantly in contact with soap and soaked in water the whole day long just aggravates my skin condition.

Doing the dishes, doing the laundry, washing the toddlers’ butts, giving the kids a bath, washing the vegetables before slicing and dicing, wiping spills on the floor and the table, working on the computer, not to mention my own bath, toilet routine and brushing my teeth!—these are the everyday chores that real wear and tear the hands.

That’s why my sister’s gift of a humongous bottle of lotion was a God-send. The skin of my fingertips (toetips included!) was all cracked from dryness. At first I was quite surprised when she handed it to me. Afterall my mom had already previously given me a bottle that was the exact twin of what she was handing me.

I said, “Are you sure? I haven’t finished the bottle of lotion Ma gave me.”

“Mommies always need lotion. Especially you—you’re a fulltime mama. Moisturize your hand every time you’re done with any washing…” she replied with a grin.

Her comment made me realize that my hands badly needed moisturizing. “But the lotion will just wash off the next time I wash something (which is like after just a few minutes). It seems such a waste…” I quipped.

“That’s why I gave you a big bottle. Besides that’s what they say—never mind that the lotion gets washed out the next time you wash or clean something,” my sister replied.

So I followed sisterly prescription, trying to ignore what I viewed as a waste of the moisturizing liquid. And it worked. In just a couple of days the skin on my hands healed and got all smooth and soft again.

And just so I remember to moisturize as often as possible, I placed one bottle of lotion beside the dish drainer in the kitchen and the other bottle in the bedroom—the two places where I can be found most of the day.

If I’m not cooking or cleaning up in the kitchen, I’m in the bedroom folding clothes or getting the kids ready for bed. Hmmm….maybe I should go purchase another bottle and put that in the bathroom—my sanctuary (harharhar).