25th July 2010 (21)
ADAPTING TO A NEW MARRIED LIFE
I got pregnant two months after I got married. A cute chubby baby
boy was born. As I mentioned earlier on I lived with my husband's
extended family which consisted of the mother of my mother-in-law,
my in-laws, and my husband's seven siblings. Some were working
and some were still studying. There were two domestic servants
helping my mother-in-law to manage the big household. There were
even separate toilets for women and men in the house. The feeding
time of my son was usually just before dinner, and by the time my
baby son finished his milk, it would be in the middle of the family's
dinner. My mother-in-law did not eat beef, some of her children
including my husband did not eat fish, and last of all I do not eat
pork, not because I believed in Islam, but because I was brought up
not eating it. It was quite a challenging task for the servants to
prepare meals for the family. As I had to feed my baby boy before
dinner, I normally joined the family in the middle of the dinner. Very
often, when I was at the dining table, half of the food that I liked had
gone. I therefore had a habit of storing canned food in my bedroom
and ate it later in the evening or order take away to be delivered by
the cooked food store just down the road. The servants’ cooking
style was very different to that of my mother who cooked Malay,
Indian, Chinese fusion food whereas my mother-in-law's family
served very traditional and authentic Chinese food. It took me quite
a while to adapt my palette.
My mother-in-law took care of my son when I was working. When I
had my second child who was a daughter two years later, I hired a
nanny to take care of my two children as I thought it was too much
responsibility for my mother-in-law. By that time, my second brother-
in-law was married and had a baby boy. They hired a nanny as well.
Gossips amongst the two nannies and the two servants were flying
in the air. It lasted some time and I found that the atmosphere was
quite unbearable. So my family moved out from the family flat and I
became a full-time mother for my two young children.
My father-in-law was upset because he had the traditional belief
that all of his family members should live in harmony under one roof.
Yuen-yee
ADAPTING TO A NEW MARRIED LIFE
I got pregnant two months after I got married. A cute chubby baby
boy was born. As I mentioned earlier on I lived with my husband's
extended family which consisted of the mother of my mother-in-law,
my in-laws, and my husband's seven siblings. Some were working
and some were still studying. There were two domestic servants
helping my mother-in-law to manage the big household. There were
even separate toilets for women and men in the house. The feeding
time of my son was usually just before dinner, and by the time my
baby son finished his milk, it would be in the middle of the family's
dinner. My mother-in-law did not eat beef, some of her children
including my husband did not eat fish, and last of all I do not eat
pork, not because I believed in Islam, but because I was brought up
not eating it. It was quite a challenging task for the servants to
prepare meals for the family. As I had to feed my baby boy before
dinner, I normally joined the family in the middle of the dinner. Very
often, when I was at the dining table, half of the food that I liked had
gone. I therefore had a habit of storing canned food in my bedroom
and ate it later in the evening or order take away to be delivered by
the cooked food store just down the road. The servants’ cooking
style was very different to that of my mother who cooked Malay,
Indian, Chinese fusion food whereas my mother-in-law's family
served very traditional and authentic Chinese food. It took me quite
a while to adapt my palette.
My mother-in-law took care of my son when I was working. When I
had my second child who was a daughter two years later, I hired a
nanny to take care of my two children as I thought it was too much
responsibility for my mother-in-law. By that time, my second brother-
in-law was married and had a baby boy. They hired a nanny as well.
Gossips amongst the two nannies and the two servants were flying
in the air. It lasted some time and I found that the atmosphere was
quite unbearable. So my family moved out from the family flat and I
became a full-time mother for my two young children.
My father-in-law was upset because he had the traditional belief
that all of his family members should live in harmony under one roof.
Yuen-yee
This woman was well known in Central
District for selling ribbons and threads
in her tiny store.
District for selling ribbons and threads
in her tiny store.