Monday, December 7, 2009

Motherhood 101: It's easier to keep a clean house clean

That's one of the lessons I learned from our first experience with a housekeeper.

Our housekeeper/yaya left last Friday after 7 months of being with us. She was our first housekeeper She told me last Thursday that her father was ill and was rushed to the hospital and that if it's ok with me, she's leaving on Friday. Her timing couldn't have been more perfect. I was scheduled to go back to work today, Monday! Good thing my husband's parents are visiting and will still be with us for another week, they volunteered to watch Andrea while we are at work. As it is with every employer, I don't think we have the right to refuse any employee who wishes to leave. My house, after all, is not a prison. So I thanked her, gave her her last pay with the Christmas bonus she deserved anyway for giving us good service during her stay, and let her go.

So since last Friday, I've been taking care of Andrea AND cleaning the house AND doing the laundry and ironing (thanks to my mother-in-law, I don't have to do the cooking as well... life's little blessings). One thing I realized was that keeping my house clean is a lot easier now than it was before, because my housekeeper kept it clean before she left. Before she arrived, there were nooks and crannies in the house that I wasn't willing to clean myself so I left them be to get dirtier and dirtier. My housekeeper cleaned them for me. And for that, I thank her and wish her well.

Now I hope we find a new yaya for Andrea soon.

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