(With my parents. After returning from a rare dinner out with a bunch of girlfriends to find my child safely fed, in bed, and sound asleep)
Me: “Ah, I like living here. I could just stay and live here forever.”
Mum: “I have news for you – no you can’t.”
(With Mike, via skype at 9am my time, 6am his time)
Mike (still in bed and half asleep): “I like this little routine we have of talking first thing in the morning.”
Me: “Yeah. Cuz let’s face it, having a nice leisurely talk first thing in the morning is not something we usually do at home. This way, you get to have your first-thing-in-the-morning talk and I’ve had two hours and a cup of coffee to get me primed.”
Mike: “That’s true. Some aspects of our relationship work better over long distance, don’t they.”
Me: “Sure. You get first-thing-in-the-morning talk minus all the day to day frustrations.”
Mike: “Aw, honey, there are no frustrations living with you.”
Me: “Speaking of things that work better across distance, I love how your rose colored glasses function more effectively when I’m 5000 miles away.”
(With my parents)
Me: “Mike found us a house in Vientiane.”
Mum: “Any luck with an English speaking maebaan (housekeeper)?”
Me: “No. Or a driver. Hey, I have an idea. How about you and Dad come back with me? You can be the maebaan and Dad can be the driver.”
Dad: “Who would get paid more?”
Me: “The maebaan, but I’ll give you both top wages. Mum, you can have $250 a month and Dad you can have $220 a month. PLUS, you can live in the little room on the side of our house that has no bathroom. And if you cook for us, I guess you can have some of that, too.”
Mum: “Just so you know, I’ve had better offers than that.”
(With Mike, via skype)
Me: “Guess what I realized the other day? In January we’ll have been married five years.”
Mike: “Huh. Time flies when you’re having fun.”
Me: “Yeah. Honey, the last five years with you has felt like one year.”
Mike: “Really?”
Me: “Yeah, except for last year. That year felt like five.”
(With Dominic)
Me: “No, water stays in the bathtub.”
Me: “No, sand stays in the sandpit.”
Me: “No. That (toilet brush/washing powder/cooking oil/china bowl) is not a toy.”
Me: “Don’t touch the ants. Remember what ants do? That’s right. They bite.”
Me: “Mama will get you another strawberry/grape/piece of pear if you eat this piece of cheese first.”
Me: “Lie. Down. And. Go. To. Sleep.”
2 comments
Love this.
My husband, Paul, has been traveling a lot lately (Malaysia, Alaska, Korea, Japan and Australia most recently) so face time is our lifeline. We did separate continents before we were married without email, skype and text and spent thousands just to talk on the phone.
Keep us posted on recruiting your parents as domestic labor. : )
Glad you always keep your sense of humor.
I know. I LOVE free VOIP. Skype and Facetime and everything are HUGE gifts of this decade to people in our situations. I’ll keep you posted on progress with my parents. I’m cautiously optimistic :).
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