As a rule, and in the spirit of being a good employer, I always release Mwende from December 15 till January 4. What does that mean for me? Chaos... chaos... chaos...
Last year a time like now, I brought in a relative who was more of a burden than a helper. That time, it was more manageable because Tasha was the only child and she was five. This year, there’s two of them, which means double trouble.
I have not yet identified a permanent solution to my mess. But for this week, a neighbour’s friendly daughter who cleared Form Four has offered to watch over Tasha and Troy who is four months. Let’s call this Good Samaritan Stella. Stella adores babies and she has a heart of gold.
This was the arrangement; Stella was to be coming over everyday by 7am so that I can dash to work on time. But you know Form Four leavers; they are never in a hurry. So much as this girl ‘vowed’ to be coming on time, she was late on day one. The day Mwende left, she reported for duty at 9am.
And apologise she did. “'Aki' Mama Tasha I am so sorry, I overslept. You know I was watching some movies and I was also on Facebook chatting with my friends. I was also checking out some snaps my pals had sent me on Instagram,” she told me in that carefree manner of a youngling who has no worries except do selfies and WhatsApp.
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I was furious because I would be late for work, but I could not shout at her, because she was just volunteering to step in for my house girl. That day, I gave her final instruction on how to warm the baby’s expressed milk and showed her where their lunch and Tasha’s snacks were then I dashed off to work.
Of course, I arrived late but thank goodness my boss understood. All through, I was unsettled and I kept calling to check on them. And every time I called, Stella kept assuring me that baby was fine.
“Relax Mama Tasha everything is fine,” she kept telling when I called.
When my time to leave reached, I dashed home. The first thing I met at the entrance was a soiled diaper and dishes were strewn all over.
The interesting thing is that the house was in total disarray, but both my kids were happy and at peace.
“Mum we took selfies with Stella and Troy and posted on FB,” an overly joyful Tasha blurted out. Yes, that’s the feedback I got. Now that is where we have reached with Stella. Wish me luck.