Prolonging our lives with...housework?<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): On many occasions when I look at our
\ngrandparents and parents I cannot help see the freshness and
\nvitality they seem to possess which seems to totally evade
\ntoday's youth. Without that \"perk-me-up cuppa coffee,\" the day
\nstretching ahead seems a revolting insurmountable dragon.<\/p>\n
In an era when stress levels in people are causing an alarming
\nnumber of cases of heart disease, strokes and all kinds of
\ngastro-related ailments, it has become imperative to delve into
\nour lifestyles and find out why. In Indonesia, along with high-
\ntech globalization and excruciatingly stressful traffic jams, it
\nis time we looked over our shoulders to see how far we have come
\nand also if it is sensible to retrace our steps in some way.<\/p>\n
What is making the young huff and puff at the end of a short
\nflight of stairs and exclaim! \"Aduh capek!\" (Oh! I am tired)?
\nRecently at a hen gathering, a mammoth revelation hit a friend.
\nShort of saying \"Eureka!\" and running out in a bath towel she
\nbabbled gushingly, \"I know the key of radiance of our ancestors -
\nit's housework!\"<\/p>\n
Spoons of cheesecake suspended, we listened. \"Wasn't housework
\ndrudgery--it was out of fashion, untrendy and outdated!\" said
\nsomeone.<\/p>\n
\"Our mothers did so much housework, they even did the
\ngardening. Life in the olden days was not so mechanical and hi-
\ntech,\" the Eureka pal spoke with an animated face inspired by the
\nrevelation. \"No microwave and heaters and gas stoves. They bent
\nand heaved and wiped and cleaned. It was natural exercise.\"<\/p>\n
Now she really did have a point there. People in bygone days
\ndid more physical work during the day and spent evenings sitting
\non porches and verandas staring at the stars. Maybe that is why
\nthere were less blocked arteries going around. \"You know, I think
\nhousework is healthy,\" she ended<\/p>\n
Tea cups poised at a tilt some said--\"Whaaat..? Housework is
\nhealthy?\"<\/p>\n
I just said, \"Here's a storm in a tea-cup.\"<\/p>\n
But then what ever happened to those mothers who washed the
\nbed linen until their nails were worn to the bone, fed the entire
\nfamily three times a day. They were the first ones to rise early
\nin the morning but sleep last after the last door knob had been
\nlocked. They raised daughters who decided that they would not
\nlive such boring lives - they would wear power suits, polish
\ntheir nails to perfection, run banks and corporations.<\/p>\n
They did all that and had families that... that ate what the
\nkoki (maid) cooked or perhaps frozen TV dinners every night.
\nBack in those days, those that led active lives lived well and
\nlong. Pollution, enclosed working conditions have banished fresh
\nair from our lungs. When a whiff does escape by mistake the lungs
\ntreat it as a foreign tourist and succumb to masuk angin
\n(catching a chill) etc. A result of this highly civilized,
\ncommercial living has a natural stone in water effect on our
\nhealth and consequently the much coveted \"freshness and vitality\"
\non our faces.<\/p>\n
So in conclusion was someone saying that the key to a healthy
\nlong life was... housework?! So housework it would be!<\/p>\n
The revelation did inspire us to trespass over the army of
\npembantu's (maids) domain and start some serious housework. After
\nall the one week of Lebaran when most of the maids waltz out of
\nthe house to visit relatives is not enough for one year of
\npampered mollycoddling.<\/p>\n
Well, a few days later, there I was -- holding up the sofa end
\nwith one hand, to look for the naughty little odds and ends that
\nperiodically crawl under the sofa to hibernate. With the other
\nhand I was beating the eggs for a chocolate souffle and taking
\ncare to balance a set of rollers on my head. My feet were busy
\ntoo - guiding the vacuum cleaner on the carpet.<\/p>\n
Enter the friend who always comes at the wrong moment. \"Hi!\"
\nshe says cheerfully. \"What are you doing?\"<\/p>\n
Maybe she needed glasses. I took a deep breath from under the
\nsofa and simply said, \"Prolonging my life!\"<\/p>\n
-- Pavan Kapoor<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prolonging-our-lives-withhousework-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }