Wanted : Yaya

Alas, I am again “yaya-less”. To the uninitiated, or those souls enjoying their single-blessedness, having a yaya is a luxury. But for someone like me, a single working mom with 2 kids, a “yaya” or nanny is a necessity. But woe is me, the last yaya I had was more of a headache than a blessing! I had to get rid of her, and fast! Or else, my health and sanity was at stake! EVERYDAY, my blood pressure would shoot up because of something she had done, or something she had left undone! E-VE-RY-DAY!!! There was always something! She would invariably ‘forget’ to give me back my change from her marketing, which she’d then pocket, or had eaten food that was meant for my kids’ ‘baon’. I don’t want to get into details lest my blood pressure shoot up again, but her latest fiasco was ringing up (literally!) almost THREE thousand pesos worth of phone bills at MY landline, and this was just for the last half of July, mind you! One call was for 77 minutes to a cellphone (which I found out later on, belonged to her boyfriend!) and which cost over Nine Hundred Pesos! One phone call worth Nine Hundred Pesos! Imagine! AAAARGH! I knew that she didn’t have money to be able to pay for those phone calls! Plus, what really got my blood boiling was thinking that instead of taking care of my kids and doing chores for which she was being paid for, she was busy talking on the phone! Kaya pala puro palpak ang trabaho ng bruha! Double, no, TRIPLE AAARGH! This is the WORST maid I’ve had the extreme misfortune of having! If committing murder was not a crime, it would have been a very viable option that very minute when I saw the phone bill.

My Dad has always said that we should be more patient in dealing with maids as of course, they have had less schooling, and thus need more instruction. If they had gotten a better (or higher) education, then they wouldn’t have settled working as maids. And I agree. But then sometimes, there are really some maids who test your patience, and makes you wonder if this is really the best that they can offer. Plus, I would think that if this is the only job that they (maids) know how to do, then they should make sure that they do a great job! Right? Sadly, that isn’t so!

But enough about that… Just recounting that incident got my blood boiling again. Pleasant memories, pleasant memories…

Yes, being without a maid now, I have to do most of the chores at home. Have been trying to find a silver lining to all these recent experiences and surprise, surprise, there are some! For one, I got a chance to spend an extra day with my kids. An extra day off work, excused! :D Friends also often wonder how I can still have energy after everything I've done. And how I can still have a smile on my face even in the face of these "irritants". One friend commented that whatever I'm facing, I always say it in a way that is amusing and that I can carry such burdens with ease. What was the exact words a cousin used to describe me? That I always manage to
go through tough times with a laugh and a witty retort. Hahaha! True.

Then yesterday, when I had to hurriedly leave my office to pick up my youngest son from school – Patrick was so surprised to see me that he started jumping up and down and shouting “My mommy’s here! My mommy’s here!” in front of his whole class! The surprise and smile on his face was priceless. Just seeing his face light up like that made me forget all my problems. :)

yes, maybe I am a Wonder Woman... ;->