Parents: Blessed "Irritants"?

I believe every single working beings who are reaching the end of your young people's era are also facing the same problem as me.

Parents. The 2 person that you love most of the times and would love to hate for the rest of the times. The 2 most irritating people at home that you sometimes feel like shrinking them into the size of long beans, throw into a box and lastly chuck the box in your safe or in your cupboard with the key hidden under your bed.

Well, at least I am referring to my parents.

Frankly speaking, a huge part of the reasons why I decided to move out (I am still looking for a place by the way so whoever has any recommendations, pls, pls inform me) is cos of my parents.

For the first, they keep forgetting that I am already 27 years old, not 7 or not 17 but 27, about to reach the end of my youth era and officially entering my early middle age era. Or in a common Singaporean term, an auntie.

Gawd, I hate the sound of that! Auntie! Yikes!

Anyway, back to parents. As I was saying, they keep forgetting my age and never seem to trust my maturity. And because of that, they are always nagging me, probing me and the worst, calling me every single bloody night if they find out I am not home at 10pm.

I mean, I appreciate the fact that I still have my parents to nag at me, parents who care and love me so much that they will never get tired of my constant childishness but its super irritating to have them calling you every single day, checking out who you are with, where you are and what time you will be back home. It reminds me of my school days, but during that time, I understand fully the reasons why they are doing that. Now? I am already going to reach my 30s! Goodness! Imagine your parents checking you out when you hit 30s?

Now try to imagine you were with your boss entertaining your customers at a bar and suddenly your parents called you. Because the place was noisy and you had to raise your voice to make yourself audible through the phone. And then try to imagine the look on your boss' and customers' face when they heard you saying, "Ma, I am outside, will not be back home so early. Yes, I will not drink, yes, I will stay away from strangers, yes yes yes."

Argh, just thinking about that is enough to make my blood boil.

Next irritation. My marital status. I think you should get what I am going to complain about now.

For the fuck out of me, I can never understand why the hell is my marital status such a big deal to anyone other than me. I already can barely tolerate all the worthless questions that my nosy relatives are always throwing at me, probing me about the non-existant men in my life. I believe I can safely say that I speak for most working singles out there with nosy relatives like mine.

And then imagine facing the same probings at home. My home, where I am supposed to be free of worthless irritations and problems that I myself have no idea how to solve.

"Jinghua, you are not getting young, when you going to bring a man home to let us see? You want us to introduce some guys to you? You must think of your future ok, don wait too long ok? Is it cos your taste too high thats why cannot find a man?"

You see how irritating that is?

First question, I already know I am getting old, I don need any more reminders. Second question, no, men are troubles. Third question, I do think about my future, why the hell do you think I am working so hard and trying ways and means to save as much as I can for my retirement. Fourthly, no, I cannot find a man not cos of my "high taste" for them but rather the taste that they leave in me. Man do have a natural tendency of leaving a bitter taste in your mouth and so I doubt I have a "high taste" when all I am asking is for a man who can leave a sweet taste in my mouth, pun intended if you get what I mean.

Now, back to my complaints about my parents.

Another thing that I hate about living with my parents is that whenever I inform them that I am going on a holiday, they would definitely say, "NO! Cannot go! Too dangerous!"

Actually, I was more like telling them I am going, not asking them if I can go.

Then when all else fails in getting you not to go, they will resort to the "act-pitiful" techniques of persuasion.

"Why you always like that one? We ask you not to go cos we are worried for you, we don want you to come to any danger. You know how dangerous other countries are or not?"

I know I am childish by being irritated here. Its indeed a blessing for anyone to have their parents around to nag at them when they are old, I count my blessings everyday that my parents are still around, healthy and alive and kicking strongly. But imagine if you face the same naggings everyday, the same probings on your personal life everyday and the same phone calls to you every single day?

I would not be normal when I say I am not affected by that.

Parents. What the hell am I going to do without them and what the hell am I going to do about them?

Now you see why I really really really want to shift out and live on my own? No matter how cosy my home is?