By Bonnie Brown

Columnist

Back many years ago when I was working full time, I used to change our sheets twice a week on Tuesday and Saturday.  I know I was an overachiever at the time.  I finally realized that perhaps I needed a little help if I wanted to continue my cleaning routines, so I started the search for a housekeeper who could come once a week.  I found Suzy.  She was very good and such a nice lady.  There were things that I did in preparation for her coming to clean, so I would get busy doing them before she arrived.  My husband asked me why I was cleaning up for the housekeeper.  I know it seemed silly, but I did it anyway.  

This system worked for a while and Suzy even doubled as a babysitter a little during the summer when the kids were home from school.  I discovered that Suzy didn’t cook, so our younger son Jeff stepped up and began preparing lunch for Suzy, his brother Dennis, and himself.  It was usually hot dogs or some similar meal.  I think that was the beginning of his cooking.  Plus, he spent a lot of time with his grandmother Valda Brown who lived next door, and she was always in the kitchen.  Jeff picked up lots of cooking skills from her which he has built on to become quite an accomplished cook, and a physician.  He is fearless in the kitchen when it comes to trying new dishes and using all sorts of ingredients and spices.  To this day, I’m not sure if Dennis can operate a microwave.  However, he has many computer, technical, and other skills instead of cooking skills and is a pharmacist.  

My family suffered through some of my “demands” that I asked of them in keeping the house orderly.  But to be honest, two boys can certainly make a mess with their toys and projects.  It was not unusual to find tools laying in the yard.  And the projects they pursued were quite involved and worrisome.  Often with Jeff being the younger one, he eagerly became the test dummy which provided some crazy moments for this mama.  

When Suzy left us, we looked for someone else to help out.  A good friend recommended her housekeeper, and we were set for another span of time.  She taught me how to fold fitted sheets, a task for which I am most grateful.  Again, I would tidy up before she arrived and again Tom asked me why I was cleaning up for the housekeeper.  She was with us for a relatively short time, and I found myself in search for someone else.  Tom found a lady and her daughter who fit the bill.  They arrived after I left for work and were gone before I returned home.  It was a perfect situation.  They did a great job, and I was very pleased.  I never saw them even though they came each week.  

I suppose I tended to get involved with the housekeepers before them and suffered through their challenges and worried about their wellbeing.  For instance, Suzy had 5 children and how did she not cook?  Plus, her birthday was February 14, Valentine’s Day and her children never did anything special for her on her birthday.   That bothered me.  So, I baked her a cake and made a fuss over her.  It was nice not to get personally involved in the daughter and mother housekeepers since I never saw them.  

My advice to you if you are looking to employ a housekeeper, make a list of things that you want done.  If there are things that you feel need to be done, limit the scope of your part in the process if possible.  And lastly, try to train your family to do your bidding.  Good luck with that!  (Smile!)