Life without a maid.....

All of us woke up early on Sunday morning of July 13, 2008 to send off our maid, Watie, to LCCT. She'll be going back to Indonesia for a 3 months break. When we arrived home it was almost 6.30 am and all of us crawl back into bed.

Later when I woke up,…..it hit me, wow, I have got no maid! At least for the time being.

Watie has been with us since 2003 and the longest she have been away from us was 9 months.

In 2006, she told us she do not wish to come back to Malaysia and work. She wants to resolved some personal issues with her husband back in Indonesia. My hubby and myself kept and open mind about her decision. Somehow deep down inside, we knew…when the cash runs low she will be back. At least I stood with my decision of not cancelling her then, recently renewed permit. We stayed in contact with each other through sms and short phone calls. That year July she left us and not until early February the following year did she finally voiced out her interest to return and continue working for us. How could we refuse? We made all necessary financial and travel arrangement for her. All she need is just to get on the plane and we will be waiting for her at LCCT. She arrived! Hooray!.

Now in 2008, she wants to back to her hometown. Again giving the same reason to settle impending marital problems, she said she is not sure how soon she can return to Malaysia. Once her problem is solved then only she will. Though it really hurt me when she wasn’t able to provide a definitive returned date, we will wait for her. This time for how long…,we don't know. I insisted that she comes back in October. She just laughed at my statement,

And replied, "Kami di Indonesia seminggu selepas raya baru la mula beraya."

I said, "Tak de. Tak de. minggu pertama Raya mesti balik Malaysia. Siapa nak tolong saya dengan open house nanti? Lagi pun saya nak buat anak lagi ni. Kamu kena jaga baby tu...."

It has been my 4th day without a maid. I can say I have everything under control except the placement for my kids. As much as possible, I do not want to disrupt their daily routine. The current changes as it is has affected them mostly. A few options popped out in my mind of where to send the kids,

#1. Send to the Montessori's (that they are registered) day care - this would be the very last option. I am not keen sending my kids to day care. I know for other people that has not been their choice. When it comes to illnesses, kids are easily infected through close contact with other kids. For instances, Shakira got her chicken pox just days before she celebrated her 6th birthday. Only then I was informed there were 3-4 similar cases in the Montessori. Kalau setakat demam, batuk dan selsema tu jangan cakapla, kaya dah doktor-doktor semua. Sebulan sekali mesti bawak anak jumpa doctor. Kalau anak dua atau tiga and happened that semuanya sakit at the same time…berapa ringgit abis beli ubat and consultation?

#2. Send to a baby-sitter - At the same time dia juga ada jaga beberapa anak orang lain. But once too many to handle by a single person it could be dangerous.

#3. Look for some one trustworthy (through close contacts) who can come to the house on daily basis - attention and focus on the kids and at the same time some house chores can be done. But getting one is risky. Anything could happen…be it good or bad.

Finally we decided to place the kids with our neighbour, kak Azah and Abang Zaaba. They have 5 teenagers school going children and they are all girls! So far so good and all arrangements are in order. The children will spend 5 hours with our neighbour until i reach home from work. They must adapt to the changes. At least I did.

Watie you are always welcome back.....