It’s January 27, and just like that, we’re almost a month into 2025. I hate clichés, but time truly does fly. In a couple of days, it will be Lunar New Year. Personally, I don’t celebrate it, but in a multicultural country like mine, I am grateful for the number of public holidays for so many different cultural celebrations we have. You see, it's a privilege. There’s Eid for the Muslims, Deepavali for the Hindus, Gawai and Kaamatan for the indigenous communities, and, of course, Lunar New Year for the Chinese. I often wonder, do other countries have so many public holidays as ours?
Given the month-long school holiday, my routine has become a little more relaxed. I don’t need to drive the kids to and from school or navigate the usual traffic jams. Free and relax schedule aside, I’m not free of responsibility. There’s always something that needs to be done, but I’ll spare the details, as I don’t always feel comfortable sharing deeply personal things here.
Chore days, mainly cleaning, are Mondays for me. To be honest, I hate doing household chores. They’re repetitive, boring, and nothing exciting, but they’re also necessary. I am pretty sure I am not the only one who feels this way.
This morning into the afternoon, I swept and mopped the floors, wiped down dusty surfaces, and washed and folded laundry. The sun filtered gently through my balcony as I worked. Nothing special happened—only the slow rhythm of an ordinary day, doing what it always does. It was a day like so many others, full of tasks that are so easily perceived as boring, just busywork.
It reminds me of a quote from Xiaolu Guo's Nine Continents:
In my heart, I was coming to know what it was like to be a trapped housewife. A house made a woman busy with meaningless things.
But does it have to be that way? Is it simply a trap, preoccupied with meaningless things?
As I mopped the floor, it made me stop and realize just how many times I’ve done this before, so many that I could do it blindfolded. And yet today I had an insight: this repetition is a gift. The mopped floors under my family’s feet, the meals around a table I just wiped clean; these are not chores. They are acts of care, the pattern of life based on peace and stability. How many people in the world long for the chance to call such routines their everyday reality?
It’s tempting to only notice the extraordinary, to reach for goals or achievements, and in doing so, miss the simple gifts in each moment. There's so much to be grateful for: the sound of a broom sweeping the floor, the smell of rice being cooked, the peace of mind that my family has a clean, safe place to come home to. These little, everyday things are everything. Yes, the chores can get dull, but the consistency of my daily routine means there is no disaster or great cosmic crisis threatening my life. That’s a blessing.
I think about those who live in war-torn countries or refugees fleeing from danger. Their lives are filled with fear and uncertainty, that kind of instability that can make the most modest comforts seem like luxuries. How dare I complain about the monotony of my life when, in reality, the very sameness of my days is a gift? To wake up and do the same tasks every day is a privilege, not a burden.
So tonight when I rest my head on my pillow, I’ll think about what tomorrow brings; the daily tasks aren't just chores but little acts of love that I do for my family and for myself. I’ll remind myself that it’s these banal moments and simple routines that keep life from falling apart. And I will feel grateful for being able to live in a multicultural country where we accept each other’s differences, rejoice in each other’s festivals, and learn to adapt. For all of this, I am deeply thankful.
That's it for now. If you read this far, thank you. I appreciate it so much! I'm a non-native English speaker, and English is my third language. Post ideas and content are originally mine. Kindly give me a follow if you like my content. I mostly write about making art, writing, life musings, and our mundane yet charming family life here in Klang Valley, Malaysia.
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I can feel you, I am doing that too, doing chores every day is tiring sometimes, just spare time to relax.
I know, right? I admit it can be soul draining at times...like I'd rather automate these chores and use my time to do more "beneficial" things. But fact is, if all we complain about is doing chores, then we are living a privilege life 🙏