Sad But True

No matter what time I wake up I always consider my first meal as breakfast. Despite the fact that I wake up at 12 pm 😅 And THAT is my most favorite meal of the day. While my teenage girl has grilled cheese sandwich or toast with peanut butter to start her day, I would enjoy a big plate of nasi goreng telor or nasi uduk lengkap or ketoprak komplit. Whenever our family stays in a hotel I never miss the breakfast buffet regardless how sleepy I am. A plate of scrambled eggs, sausages, sauted veggies... Yummm... Come to think of it, breakfast is probably the main reason I love to spend nights in a hotel 😄 So yeah... Minutes after I wake up I'd ask our maid Yuli to prepare or buy my breakfast. While Yuli is cooking and I'm enjoying my favorite meal, the two of us usually have a conversation about day-to-day life as a wife and a mother, or boss and a maid 🙂

Today our conversation was about the daily budget for food. Every Sunday afternoon Yuli will send me a text. A very long text! 😆 It's basically her proposal for 1 week's menu 😄 For example, last Sunday Yuli sent me this:

Then the 2 of us would exchange texts back and forth until we come to a mutual agreement. Does it end here? Oh of course not! After the menu is set, we have to talk about money 🤪 Yuli will give me a certain number. I'll ask why and what for. She'll explain about this and that. We'll bargain on how much the final expense is and only then I will finally transfer the money. Yes. It is THAT rempong! 😆 

Lately Yuli has been complaining about how expensive the spices are and some ingredients are hard to get. This morning while I was enjoying my first cup of coffee Yuli went on about which mas/mba who has the best chicken/meat/fish with the most reasonable prices. Yuli explained that to get the best chicken you have to go to a particular market. While to buy the freshest meat you have to go to another. That's why it takes a long time for Yuli to shop for groceries. Because she has to go to several markets to get the best ingredients to cook for our family 😊"Kalo ngga seger, ngga enak. Bapak, ibu sama si neng nggak bakalan mau makan, bu! Rasanya pasti beda." she said 😄 Our conversation went on and on because I was curious about her previous work places. What kind of menu the families have in a week, how much budget did she get, etc. Yuli looked at me straight in the eyes and said "Nggak kaya di sini bu!" 

Curiouser and curiouser 🤪 I must say the stories she told me... Oh man... It was quite shocking 😅 Then Yuli went on about her family. Now on this part I was... How should I say it? Shocked? Amazed? Or did I feel sorry? I don't know...

So... Yuli told me that her daily menu at home consists of 1 thing, max 2. For example, cah kangkung and tempe goreng. "Kalo akhir bulan belum gajian kita bertiga makannya bisa Indomie kuah, bu! Kuahnya dibanyakin biar kenyang, pake nasi terus dibagi 3. Yuli, Aylen sama bapaknya Aylen. Sukur-sukur ada telor. Kalo ada Yuli bikin telor ceplok, dibumbuin lagi terus bagi 3. Kalo ada sisa sambel dari sini, daripada dibuang Yuli bawa pulang. Nanti nasinya diaduk pake sambel. Sukur-sukur ada kerupuk atau pilus." I was like... 😳 I asked her cautiously: "Lauknya apa Yul? Ngga pake ayam? Kalau daging mahal ya... Tapi misalnya ikan?". Again my maid looked at me and answered "Walah bu... Makan ayam paling sebulan sekaliii! Kalo dapet ikan agak gedean juga dibagi 3. Kalo daging???? Paling setaun sekali dapet dari kurban. Atau ya dikasih dari sini yang udah nggak dimakan." I didn't believe her. Yuli laughed. "Tanya aja Si Jun kalo ibu ngga percaya!" 

Right at that moment our driver came into the kitchen to make coffee and I asked him immediately "Jun! Istri suka masak apa?" Jun replied lightly: "Ya biasa aja bu... Oseng tempe. Tahu. Sayur lalapan. Paling gitu aja. Kalo lagi ada uang, ya beli ikan Nila. Dimakan sekeluarga. Kalo akhir bulan paling Indomie pake kuah banyak biar kenyang. Kenapa bu?" Again, I asked about the chicken, fish, meat and side dishes. Jun: "Wah ayam sih paling sebulan sekali bu! Itu juga dipotong kecil-keciiiil! Paling sedikit dibagi 10. Terus ditepungin tapi tepungnya dibanyakin supaya keliatannya gede dan ngenyangin." Yuli turned at me with I-told-you-so look and laughed. Come to think of it... Maybe she was laughing because of my expression...

I didn't know how to react. The way Jun and Yuli told me made their stories funny. I did laugh. But obviously it was also sad. Very sad. Every Sunday I think about the food my family will have for the next 7 days. Meat, chicken, fish, vegetables, side dishes and dessert based on mood. Yet there are times when the 3 of us "don't feel like it" and still order from Gofood... I felt guilty. And again. Very sad. Especially because there's always some left-overs. Then our maid and driver said the same thing. "Makanya kalo sama ibu dikasih sisa makanan dari sini semua orang di rumah seneng banget bu! Rebutan! Soalnya ya ngga setaun sekali juga bisa makan kaya beginian! Alhamdulillah! 😂" 

.............................................................

 Sad but true. Indeed 😔

Today And Forever

 Never once I doubted that you are my reason to live. 

And again today God showed me a solid proof. 

That you are my love, my guardian, my life, my everything. 

Our tears are mine to wipe and the moments are ours to treasure. 

Forever and always. 

I love you Bebi 😘

New Promise + New Class = FUN

A promise is made to be kept, fulfilled. In my case it was actually a nazr. That if my Precious Godsend successfully graduated to Class 9, I would take our house crew, Dewi-Yuli-Ari, to dinner. This time we decided to take them to have dinner at Outback Steakhouse. How we came to decide to have steaks was because of our talk about food 😄 Usually this kind of conversation occurs when I'm having my morning coffee while Dewi is cooking and Yuli is cleaning up the bedrooms. The maids talk about how their bosses like to treat them with adventures including trying out delicious, and in their case, unusual food 😄 Duck King, Sushi Tei, Chung Gi Wa, ... and others. Sadly I can't remember any of those moments 😔 Thankfully I always take-post the pictures! So while I was looking at the pictures I went something like "Kalo makan steak udah pernah belom?". I could see their faces lit up immediately 😂 I guess they know SiBapa and SiBubu very good. The Dynamic Duo (Dewi Yuli) answered, or should I say, practically screamed "Belom pernah Bu! Ya kalo yang murah sih udah pernah ya! Stik tenda gitu, bu!" I laughed and asked "Oh emang Bapa belum pernah ngajak ke Outback ya?" Minutes after that all I could hear was "Belom buuu! Belom!" 😆 And that was how it began.

First thing first. I told SiBapa about my nazr and asked for his permission. Of course he said yes and told us to have fun 🥰 Sadly he's still in Bali so he couldn't join us. When I told the crew about it they were actually happy 😂 "Kalo sama Bapa bawaannya tegang, Bu..." among other things which I totally understand 😆 So the next thing I knew I made a reservation at Outback Steakhouse for Wednesday at 7pm. Why Outback? Well... That was the first steakhouse restaurant which came across my mind. Also it's in PIM 1, not too far from home. So why not 😋

As I predicted, yesterday the maids came extra early. I watched them work until ... "Bu, Dewi sama Yuli pamit pulang awal ya... Mau mandi sama dandan dulu. Semua kerjaan udah beres, bu. Nanti jam setengah 6 kita udah di sini lagi. Yuli juga mau minum Antimo dulu supaya ngga mabok naek mobil." Both of them grinned with eyes full of excitement 😆 Even Ari went home early. They came back at 5:30pm, all dolled up and ready to have a good time. It was a good decision to leave sooner because the traffic was pretty bad. But thankfully we arrived right on time 😊

The restaurant wasn't packed but I was suprised to see lots of guests on a weekday. I also thought that Outback is like... This old place where the youngsters wouldn't come to visit. But apparently I was wrong. Next to our table there were like 3 or 4 tables set together and the guests were all... Young people 😄 I think it was a birthday celebration. While on the other side of our table there was a young man enjoying his steak and beer all by himself. Yuli, the outspoken one, asked "Kalo orang luar, ato orang item kaya di meja sebelah, emang suka makan sendiri gitu ya bu?" 😆 I said "Lah ibu juga sering makan sendiri! Terutama kalo ke Sushi Tei. Makan di bar sendiri. Atau ngopi. Nonton apalagi! Enak." Yuli was like "Oh iya ya bu... Ibu sering pergi sendiri 😳" Like always, the crew asked lots of questions. Especially when it was time to order. Dewi already knew a thing or two because she googled the menu at home 😂 Yeah... Dewi always does her homework. I couldn't stop laughing because the maids kept comparing the steak prices to their daily groceries shopping. That instead of 1 steak, they could buy a week's or even a month's worth of groceries and stuff. It's always interesting to hear their stories. From Dewi-Yuli-Ari I know how they live their lives and everything. Especially about daily expenses. The waitress was also nice. When Yuli chose a certain drink, the waitress said politely "Ini ada alkoholnya ya bu..." Yuli immediately said no and her eyes grew bigger when I was drinking mine. "Bu! Nanti mabok bu!" 😄 I could see that she was really concerned about me. Dewi also kept reminding me to take my evening pills before bed instead of the usual 7pm because I had an alcoholic beverage. Meanwhile, after ordering her pasta 😑, my girl strolled in and out the restaurant by herself. Yuli was really concerned. "Nanti si eneng nyasar bu!" I had to calm her down and told her not to worry. 

And finally the juicy steaks were served on the table. I taught the Dynamic Duo how to use the fork and knife, what kind of sauce they should try etc. While everybody was enjoying their steaks, My Precious Godsend asked her mbas "Enak ga steak-nya? Mba Dewi suka? Mba Yuli suka? Senang ga ke sini?" 🤗 And her mbas said "Seneng neeeeng! Steak-nya enaaak! Terima kasih ya neng!" Beside steaks we also had Typhoon Bloom (fried onion rings) and Crispy Volcano Shrimp which turned out to be everybody's favorite. When Yuli tried the onion rings she asked "Bu? Ini...bawang bombay? Ditepungin??? Larang tenan!" 😂 I swear to you everytime Yuli commented on something I laughed and almost peed in my pants. Yuli has always been the funny one. Things that are..."normal" in her case can be funny and make me laugh. I assume that's why Dewi can get along very well with Yuli. 

The dinner was a major success. Maybe it was too successful because nobody made a sound all the way home 😂 Our tummies were full and all we wanted was to lay down on our beds and go to sleep. Thankfully the traffic was okay and we arrived at home before 10pm. With sleepy eyes the Dynamic Duo and Ari thanked me and Kukka again and again and again. They said they also would send a thank you message to SiBapa. Seconds before I closed the door our house crew still expressed their gratitudes and prayers for SiBapa, Kukka and me. The 3 repeatedly said "Kalo bukan sama ibu dan bapa, ya mana bisa kita ke sini!" 🙂

That night I went to sleep with a smile on my face. A smile of happiness and gratitude. I'm happy because we had the chance to share new experiences with the people who make our daily lives easier. I'm happy because they are happy. I'm grateful to have a husband who's always willing to share in whatever form of happiness can be shared. Especially to those who are not as fortunate as we are. And most of all I'm grateful that SiBapa and I can teach/show one meaningful lesson or 2 to our Beloved Godsend. I hope one day she'll understand it 

even more and will apply it to her own life. 

Amen 🥰