The price of ensuring comfort is achieved

I’ve been busy getting my folks settled in this country and in our house. Some of the things they are used to in their own home are not exactly reflected and available in ours. There were compromises that were done to bridge the gap. Most of which meant having to get (and spend on) things.

I am a minimalist and I try to be in most ways. Just like in the kitchen - I have this wooden basket where I put some veggies and fruits together. Mom comes and says that they should be separated. So we went ahead to get a fruit bowl of some sort. She wanted to clean the porch-terrace and the entrance path to our house with a broom, but not with the wooden (and hard) push broom that we have. She didn’t like to use the dustpan and hand broom because she has to squat to clean up. We get a nice broom but she thinks it’s still not good enough. She thinks we should get an indoor broom (just like the ones we use back home) as there is no need to vacuum everyday. That is going to save us electricity (however little) but we’ll just end up having too many brooms, don’t you think?

My point is that getting the comfort level of home in another place can be costly. Those might be things we would normally take for granted but feel the absence of when in another place, but when we do find a filler (not necessarily the exact thing) we end up spending more.

Mom has been really good about being a neat freak and going about the chores that I can’t really do with efficiency at the moment. Her and dad have been very nice in giving me nightly massages that have helped me sleep better at nights AND waking up ache-free too! They cook yummylicious food of course! I love it! Although at this time I feel the sudden pour of cash out of our bank accounts to get them settled and feel comfortable, there are things that J and I enjoy by having them around. They brought with them an entire suitcase of baby clothes and things! J and I would probably have spent so much if we got our baby that much at this time. And they are gifts to their first grandchild!

Although I am defensive in saying that it’s her comfort level that we are trying to meet, I must admit that they also make sense, like having the plastic container for folded clean clothes. I’m just hesitant to accept the presence of new things in our house that would force me to be more active in doing chores. To store folded and clean clothes would mean ironing next that J and I are not particular about. I’m quite lazy eh? :)