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My Turn
by

Wayne Chan

From The Asian Reporter, V35, #4 (April 7, 2025), page 6.

When enough isn’t enough enough

The other morning, my wife Maya walked into my home office and placed a bowl of fruit on my desk. She looked at me with a very dismissive facial expression and said, "Don’t put this back into the fridge."

What she was referring to was the fact that she had placed the same bowl of fruit on my desk yesterday, but I put it back into the fridge because I wasn’t hungry.

So, here is the problem. Am I grateful that my lovely wife Maya made the effort to cut up a variety of fruit and put it on my desk as a nutritious snack? Of course I am. That she would take the time to do this is just a tiny example of how much she cares about me and wants me to eat healthier. But still, I wasn’t hungry!

I just referred to it as a problem, but is it really a problem? Maybe that’s not the correct word. I think I need to be a little more precise in my language. Since Maya is from Taiwan, maybe I should find a more accurate description in Chinese.

困惑 (Kùnhuò): Bewilderment, perplexity.

Now, let me just say this so there is no doubt. Maya is a beautiful, incredibly talented woman who has a full heart and is always optimistic, and I know I couldn’t be luckier to have her in my life.

Having said that, it doesn’t mean I don’t have some issues I’d like to address.

For example, we take turns doing the laundry. We each put the clothes into the washing machine, then the dryer, and later we take them out, fold them, and put them away. Simple enough, right?

Except.

Except that when I do the laundry, do you know what she does? She unfolds and refolds all of her own clothes that I just washed, dried, and folded! Now, is her folding technique better than mine? Probably. Still, do you know how that makes me feel?

不足 (Bùzú): Inadequate, insufficient, not enough.

Here’s another example. In our home, whoever gets out of bed last makes the bed. Simple enough, right?

But here’s the thing. I’ll make the bed, and later in the day, I’ll go into our bedroom and the bed has been remade! Does it look better than what I did? Probably.

Here’s the issue — the only people who are going to see our bed are the two of us. It’s not like a photographer from a Home & Garden Show is about to stop by and take pictures of our bedroom for their special pictorial feature called, "The Joys of a Perfectly Made Bed!"

It’s not like I don’t make the bed — I do! Do I have fleeting thoughts about, "Well, if you’re just going to remake the bed anyways, why should I do it at all?" Of course I do! And for those who are thinking that maybe I should do a better job making the bed in the first place, here’s my response:

多餘 (Duōyú): Superfluous, unnecessary, especially through being more than enough.

I know most of you at this point are on Maya’s side. I get it. We each have separate walk-in closets in our bedroom. Both are perfectly functional, except mine looks like all the clothing was put away with the "shot put method." Maya’s closet looks like a photographer from a closet renovation company is about to show up for an "after" picture.

Gotta go. Must eat my fruit now.

Humor writer Wayne Chan lives in the San Diego area;

cartoonist Wayne Chan is based in the Bay Area.

Read the current issue of The Asian Reporter in its entirety!
Go to <www.asianreporter.com/completepaper.htm>!

Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the
authors and not necessarily those of this publication.

My Turn by

Wayne Chan

My Turn
by