Last week I noticed that our house helper (working student) has always been busy calling through her phone and I'm hearing things about "Lechon Belly" and stuff. Last Tuesday, she went out and ask my consent because she has an errand and that is to make a tarpaulin. So when she came home I asked her if when is her birthday, she told me this coming May 24. So I wondered what was the tarpaulin all about. She then told me it's for her elder sister's 18th birthday on May 7.
May 6, 2021
When she told me about it, I knew already that she's going home to celebrate her sister's birthday there (6 hrs away from here, barrio). Her routine in the morning is to sweep the leaves outside, sweep and scrub the floor on the garage, cook for breakfast, set the table, wash the dishes, and cook rice for the dogs. Just reading these things is making me tired already. Household chores are no joke.
So when she's finally done all those chores, she took a bath and bids goodbye to us. She never mentioned when she's gonna come back but I'm certain that she'll come back again on Saturday.
Since she went home, I had to take over the responsibilities. Actually not all of it, just a portion of those hundreds.
At 9 am, I took a bath went out to pay for the internet bill. We felt the anxiety of losing her presence for days so we (me and Lola) decided to just buy viand for lunch.
Lola cooked rice, my sister took care of the dishes after lunch and I fed the dogs after. Imagine her doing all these things. She cooks every meal and washes the dishes after. That's exhausting. Not just that, there are many things to do like how meticulously Lola instructs her to do this and that.
At dinner, we didn't have to worry about it because there are still leftovers from lunch. After dinner, we had a petty misunderstanding with my sister who's gonna wash the dishes. Haha
May 7, 2021
I woke up at 6 am. I guess it was my body's instinct to wake up early because I have to assist what my Lola does. I watered the plants as instructed. She cooked for breakfast and I washed the dishes. We were still in a cold war with my sister at that time. But she approached me when she woke up so we're good.
After washing the dishes, I cooked rice (corn) for the dogs and set it aside to feed them after lunch.
At 10:30 am, I began to prepare the ingredients for the viand I'm cooking. I'm just cooking a simple dish. Just a soup with a small amount of meat, potatoes, and carrots on it. We ate our lunch and I began to feed the dogs.
Just doing these things made me realize how difficult their works are. I have so much respect for our dear OFWs who work as domestic helpers to sustain the needs of their families. The level of sacrifice and service they do to make money is unbelievable.
I might make an article about our working student here. She's diligent in her studies, at the age of 15, she's already working and doing all she can for her and the future of her family.
Going back to the topic, after I fed the dog I can finally rest for the remaining hours of the afternoon then prepare for dinner.
I forgot what I cooked for dinner. Haha. My sister took care of the dishes again.
May 8, 2021
I had the busiest morning so far. I woke up at 6 am again and swept the leaves around the lawn. The leaves were all over it because it rained last night. Saturday means laundry day, so after taking our breakfast, I sorted the clothes first and had my sister helped me do the laundry. I also changed the couch's gown and replaced it.
While doing the laundry, I also bathe the dogs. There are two of them namely Shadow and Papi. I cleaned their houses too. After taking them for a bath, I washed the clothes and continued the laundry. After drying everything on the machine, we hang them outside to dry from the Sun. After that, I cooked rice for the dogs again.
We started the laundry around 8:30 am and finished past 10 am. It was very exhausting. My back ached. 😣
We rested and then at 11 am, I took out the chicken so I'll fry it for lunch. My back has not recovered yet from the ache it got from the laundry and bathing the dogs. I cooked for lunch again, ate our lunch, and fed the dogs.
But just before I took my first bite, it rained suddenly so we have to take off all the clothes away from the rain. However, after we took the clothes the Sun comes up again. 🤦♀️
Just imagine this routine every day, it would give body aches every day.
So do not underestimate our helpers or our mothers who stay in our house and take care of everything. They make our lives so much easier. Even if you say that you pay them for the service, they're still humans. They get tired, they need comfort, they need a vacation, and they need good camaraderie with the household members too. I wouldn't say masters or bosses because it makes them too lowly. They don't deserve to be treated like that.
This is also a tribute to my aunt who is a domestic helper in Oman. It's her birthday today. I wish her good health and strength not just physically but also mentally to strive harder and fight the negativities. I hope she's in good condition now and the house owners are not abusive.
Thanks for reading!
Keep safe everyone. ❤
By the way, I uploaded a new piano cover on my channel. Check it here:
that's so much work done but it's kind of my every day too since we don't have a helper around. good thing you guys were taught how to do chores though