I’m rather annoyed. And more than a little angry.

Godmom just called up to ask me to go over to check on grandma, because my uncle’s apparently working for the next two months and they didn’t think to inform anyone else until like… two hours ago. No, one hour ago.

It’s not the first time my relatives have called me or my family members for matters regarding to my grandmother and expected us to jump. My eldest aunt once called my father while he was in Malacca for a meeting, and, according to him, belligerently told him to come and pick them (my aunt and my grandmother) from the hospital. When he was explained that he was in a meeting, she scolded him and demanded that he leave the meeting to pick them up immediately.

Coming from a family who instilled strong working ethics in us, this did not sit well with my father. He told her off (which, knowing her, would have surprised her greatly) and basically then called my brother and me to inform us of what he’s done. This is not unexpected, I’m just surprised it too this long for my aunt to push my father.

It’s known in the family that my brother and me love our grandmother, and we would basically jump if she called us. It’s also known that we are her favourites, something that apparently inspires jealousy in some of our relations. To get back at us, they call us for every petty thing, expecting us to live our lives around her, much like what they have done. If we are not available, they guilt us into it.

Resisting them takes effort, but it is worth it.

What really rails me is that I have so many other cousins living nearby who could always pop in to visit her. It does NOT have to be just me and my brother. The situation however, makes me laugh. The eldest daughter of my eldest uncle rarely bothers to show her face anymore at family events. Asking her to come and babysit my grandmother is a request that inspires laughter in my brother, me and my grandmother, simply because we know she wouldn’t do it.

It’s very ironic and irritating when your uncle thinks your time is less precious than his daughter’s. After all, she’s a good little Christian girl who goes to church with her boyfriend and works in KL but can’t spare 2 hours to visit her grandmother. I admit I do have a beef to pick with my cousin, who made veiled insults that I was too thick-headed to pick up during a close friend’s wedding.

What I am really annoyed at is the way the extended family looks down on my family, simply because we are not part of the religious cliche. My family is more preoccupied with putting food on the table rather than dedicating everything to God, or at least the Church. They focus so much on the Heavenly world that they forget to live in the Earth God put them here first.

And some wonder why I can’t stand the thought of Church.