Domestic Goddess?

My part-time helper has taken two weeks off to visit family in China. On Saturday, I spent most of the morning pottering about the house, cleaning out the fridge, doing the laundry and straightening things up generally. It was quite a nice and therapeutic thing to do , with Yoyo ma's Soul of the Tango playing the background and the air-conditioner running while the sun blazes outside. Using the vacuum cleaner, one could even practice pilates stretches.

I mused about the state of domestic affairs.

As most friends know, I am interested in interior design and creation of living spaces. I also enjoy cooking, and there's nothing I enjoy more than having a few good friends over for dinner.

This may give the impression that I am some kind of aspiring domestic goddess or at least a Martha Stewart wanna-be (without the law suits). I wished I could claim that, but I am not.

I like food immensely, but I know I am not a born cook, like a few of my friends are (interestingly they are mainly male friends). I enjoy going for cooking classes when I travel, but it's mainly for the cultural experience. I like creating a theme out of dinner gatherings (e.g. Japan Hour, Passover etc), but I am happy to leave the cooking to other more talented cooks.

Also, I have also noticed that visitors often comment on how neat my apartment is. But it really did not become this way through my will and strength. I just happened to be blessed with an incredibly good part time helper, who is germ-phobic and dirt-phobic, and who insists on arranging my clothes, books, CDs and skincare bottles in HER way. Even though I don't consider myself to be terribly messy, I certainly am not overly anal about having perfect order in my environment. My mom is a reliable witness to that fact.

I sometimes wonder how people manage without help. It does take a great deal of discipline and stamina to keep the house in that general level of cleanliness. With work being so busy these days, the last thing I think of when I return home is to do the ironing and cleaning. For this reason, I have the greatest respect for my mom. She used to hold a day job, and would still faithfully for the family every single day. I don't remember ever waking up without breakfast being ready or coming home from school without a piping dinner waiting. We could not afford a domestic maid, and so she did everything herself. Our house (even my room) was always neat and tidy, all entirely due to her effort. I guess it was just Mom. She has been like that all her life, efficient and taking pride in everything she does. Now, she is what I would consider a domestic goddess.