Maid In Singapore (2)

My third maid, Joan, who was a Filipino, was a very intelligent and hardworking lady. When she was working in my household, I left the cooking entirely to her. I have always been very good in household chores, but never in cooking. So, my main requirement whenever I engaged a maid was that she MUST be good in cooking. What's the point of getting one who does not even know how to cook and I still have to think of what to feed her or spend money to buy food from outside!!

My mum had been a great help to me in the area of teaching Joan how to prepare Chinese herbal soups and dishes. Joan, who was a fast learner, also learnt how to prepare other Asian dishes from recipe books found at home. For someone like me, who dreads cooking, having Joan was really a God-sent blessing. On the other hand, I trained her in the chores. I remembered telling her very boldly on her first night with us that if she could meet my standard of cleanliness and follow my ways of keeping the house, she could survive anywhere else.!

Joan loved Caleb and Naomi very much and she would spend time playing with and reading to them in spite of the many chores she had to complete. The children still receive postcards or emails from her on their birthdays. Caleb still remembers the times spent with Auntie Joan, though he could vaguely remember her face.

Right now, Joan is working in Canada as a caregiver. As a caregiver, she does not have to do any household chores or cooking. She works only fifteen days a month and earns much more than when she was working in Singapore. I am glad that she has a better and more relaxing work life now and can send more money back home in the Philippines.

I personally feel that the maids in most Singaporean families lead a more rigid lifestyle whereby they have to adhere to a certain routine every day. They tend to be busier (as compared to those maids who work for 'angmohs') as employers will always certainly make sure that they have things to do all the time (and not skiving). It always puzzles me why some employers do not allow their maids to have a day off every week or, at least, every month even though their families do not have any infants or invalids who require their constant care and attention. For people like us who work (including our dear homemakers), we need to set aside time to rest and re-energise. Even for most working people who already have two days of rest every week, they still complain that it is insufficient. Then think about those maids who do not even have a day off.!

So, rest is important and necessary. Even the Creator of heaven and earth rested on the seventh day after six days of work, what more about us, God's wonderful creation! In our life journey, how well we walk is how well we rest (not just physical rest, but resting in the finished work of Jesus).

Give yourself and the maid a break! : )

God's Beloved