Middle-age Plight

Growing up in 1990s, most of us dreaded doing the household chores. Holidays were instead spent flicking through the television while munching on snacks and sipping sugared milk teas. Parents would return home from work and be absolutely disappointed on how we had spent the entire day. They would pointedly ask us why the dishes were piling up in the sink, why the kitchen was unclean and why we hadn’t cleared out the mess of the snack litters. We would listen contritely but then we would shrug it off. After the holidays, we would be buried too deep in books, classes and homework to tend to house duties. 

As a sort of compensation, we would manage to tidy up our rooms, albeit in a hurry. We were driven not only by academic ambition but also by the admonition of the elders, teachers and parents. Upon graduation, most of us went on to have a career, then got married, bought a house and settled down, after which it dawned upon us: much of our lives would be spent on the mundanity of household chores. The very chores that we had avoided would come to haunt us. 

Now as grown-up millennial, we get up in the morning, make our beds, cook and wash dishes and go to work. Some of us might have a remote job. In between work, we scroll through the phone only to put the phone down in frustration after seeing the ultra-successful lives of our friends, families and colleagues. Social media perusal only adds to a momentary fit of envy. But then, we have to work which we do till it is time to clock out. Reaching home, again we are in kitchen cooking dinner. While cleaning the kitchen sink we pause and wonder how much time we have spent so far in our lives doing minor chores such as cleaning up, organising, cooking and even making up the bed. 

Before we sleep, we have to sort out laundry and prep for the next day as only fortunate ones have extra help. Parents might have to tend to their little ones. Spouses might bicker questioning where the initial love and passion has gone to. At night we curl under the covers only to wake for a similar routine the next day.  

As adults we are supposed to be responsible for our own circumstances in life. Granted that adulting is hard, it is also unavoidable. But don’t judge us for the fact that we are struggling financially, emotionally, mentally and even physically. We know we should be doing better. Where is the life we had aspired for? The glamour of a wealthy, successful life that we thought was our birthright is now a pipe dream. We have become less successful, burnt-out versions of the older generations. We currently spend a significant time of our lives in household duties remembering the days when we used to shun them. Instead now we are teaching the kids the same tasks, hearing contempt in their refusals to clear the table and do the dishes. 

How ironical life is! Dreams that have dissipated like smoke in the air now haunt us in our dreams only to wake up the next day feeling just as dispirited.