It was Thanksgiving weekend, a few weeks before the end of my maternity leave, and before my dreaded return to work. Out of nowhere, my housekeeper just upped and left. She texted me in the morning that she would come later that day, and then never showed up. Never called me back or responded to my text messages. I don’t know what happened to her. I spent the whole day moping around, wondering how someone can be so inconsiderate, and how this just HAD to happen before I went back to work. It didn’t help that I was so bloated from thanksgiving dinners, and my hormones were all out of whack because I was weaning the baby. It was the last straw. It was like someone had pulled out that critical Jenga piece and everything was just toppling over.
The next morning, I awoke a different person. This was very unusual for me. I pushed myself and worked out hard. My body hurt, but I felt great; even empowered. I thought about my housekeeper, and wondered when I had become so reliant on someone to keep my life in “order”. I grew up in a very clean home, mostly due to my mom, BUT also because I helped keep it that way. I did the laundry, washed bathrooms, dusted, vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen and helped with cooking etc. For the last 6 years, before we moved into our current home, my husband and I took care of everything sans cleaning lady. So when I on went maternity leave and reduced my income substantially, the only logical move was to get a cleaning lady. Duh. Honestly, she wasn’t even that good at it but I just liked not having to do it myself.
So, on Tuesday, the day of my empowerment, I cleaned the house from top to bottom with my husband and our surprisingly helpful then 5 year-old. It was the cleanest it had been since we moved in. That same day I spent time with both my kids like I hadn’t in days. I read to them, played with them and danced with them. My husband and I seriously started talking about some of our business ideas, and he even leaped into making some YouTube videos that he had wanted. It was the day that I took control.
It was almost like I needed that jolt – a reminder that people are selfish, and if you want things done, you need to take matters into your own hands; whether it be raising your kids the way you want, working out to burn off those calories and be healthy, or taking a business risk. I realized I could do anything on my own AND I could have a clean house while doing it. It was so empowering. Fast forward to today, and most of the time I still feel like I can do anything. The clean house, though; that’s a dream I still haven’t been able to achieve.