COTANGENT

By Daphne Cardillo

                                                 Housebound

                   Friends could not imagine that I can be domestic but I like staying in the house.  I can manage my own time and can schedule my own activities.  I can also make adjustments; what I can’t do during the day I can do at night or the following day.

                   But with the absence of a helper I have to do housekeeping myself.  I like to cook but not for every meal.  Cooking is interesting when you try out new dishes or whip up some favorite ones.   Or try to make something out of leftovers which calls for creativity.  I enjoy baking which I used to do everyday but not as often as of late.

                   I like to do a little sewing, carpentry, and gardening but I don’t have anymore the energy for them though I do a little tinkering here and there.  But I like cutting long branches of trees into small pieces under the sun, my right arm getting stronger from playing tennis.  Yeah, that slashing job is quite relieving after you bathed yourself with sweat.

                   Marketing is something I find stressful for I don’t buy everything that I need in one place.  Sea foods I get at the wet market, processed meat at the meat shops.  Chicken and pork liver I buy at our nearby flea market.  Fruits, vegetables, and spices are bought anywhere where they are fresh.

                   Cleaning is one thing I don’t particularly like doing so I move carefully.  Why, I can cook in a party dress.  But well, dirt accumulates and while I can tolerate dust, I cannot live with grease.  The electric polisher is a great help since I live in an old house with concrete and hardwood flooring.  One simply has to clean, even just by sections, and organize waste; like I have five trash bins in the house—one at the kitchen, one beside my desk, another beside my daughter’s table, and two more at the two toilets.

                   Doing the laundry is something that I have to contend with since I stopped calling a laundry woman.  Even with the machine, it is still a laborious chore that I simply have to stagger.  All whites now, bed linens and towels on another day, and so on.  Whenever I attempt to wash clothes in great bulk I’d get a cough the next day; the least, a bout with colds.

                   However, life inside the house has been a comfortable one when you live simply.  I can eat and work in a leisurely manner and enjoy every minute of it.  Besides, I can sleep late and wake up late, an old habit.  And I have the time to read, think, and write. On the other hand, I can go out anytime I want.

                   For a modern woman, being housebound is a choice, when you have the option to spend your days working outside the home.  But it is a meaningful experience when you center your life on the home. □