Doing My Part

Okay, I have decided to announce to my husband that I will let the cleaning lady go entirely.  I will admit, I am hesitant to follow through as I write this, but I believe this is a great way to show I care about our finances at this time. That is not to say I will not ask her back when things "bounce back." I realized, after cleaning the house once last month, that I am perfectly capable.Some of you reading this may not have a cleaning person and may be baffled by the fact that I have had one, but I haven't lifted a finger since my husband and I lived in Saudi Arabia, where, admittedly, I became spoiled.

You see, over there, everyone has a live in maid whether you need one or not. Our "maids quarters" was a tiny little bedroom/bathroom off the kitchen that was so small that we had to get a twin bed custom cut to fit into the room and even then, it was "wall to wall." So, in the beginning, she cleaned every day, did the laundry, and helped me get dinner ready. I loved having her cut and clean the lettuce and other foods I'd be preparing...she was an amazing dicer. For a couple of weeks, we were digging this.  But then we started to feel silly for having a full time maid "pick up" after the two of us.  My husband would purposely drop his boxers in the middle of the floor just to keep her busy. We then cut her to 3 days a week. After my Lebanese friend told me she had seen her watching TV whenever I was away ( the nerve of her), she said she wanted to have a "talk" with her in Arabic to tell her this was NOT acceptable! Their "talk" was the loudest, nastiest sounding conversation I had ever heard. I felt so bad for our sweet Eritrean girl. How could I be tough on her when I realized there was nothing for her to do?? Our place was gleaming. Soon, I cut her to once a week, and that is how it stayed.

When I returned to the states, after living in Saudi for 4 1/2 years, having a maid was a no brainer. It's tough to have had it easy, and then go to a more moderate lifestyle. The money was great, we traveled all the time, and we bought designer clothes whenever we wanted.  Whoever says money doesn't make life easier is full of it. Anyway, for now, I'm ready to give this cleaning thing a shot.