missing germany #9

This is my lovely cleaning lady from Poland - Halina. She speaks almost no German and I don't know a single word of Polish other than "dzine dobry"! But we managed to communicate somehow, in the simplest of German and I have never been disappointed by her housekeeping power for the past 2.5 years. 

Yep, for the first half year, I was struggling to clean my house, cook meals, do laundry, iron my husband's business shirts while I was nursing a then 3 month-old Kristin. What would normally take 2 hours max (e.g. vacuuming the floor, mopping, cleaning the bathroom and toilets) would become a never ending ordeal. I dreaded when it was the cleaning day - my self-induced stress. I've always had this tick of having my whole place wiped down at least once every week. Household chores were never a big deal to me and my brother. I think my mom excelled in this department - my brother and I used to clean for my mom once every week as soon as we were in secondary schools. This habit has accompanied us throughout lives that even in the most stressful exam periods while I was overseas, I never had a dirty bathroom! Thus when I couldn't clean like I would love to in the earlier days of our posting here, I was M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E.! I was stressed. I think I even had post-natal depressions because of that! 

Things changed when Halina came into my life here. Strangely, I had to outsource the department that I was most comfortable with! Cleaning and cooking had never been a problem for me, while the other C in the chemical makeup of a SAHM was something I struggled and am still struggling most with, namely Childcare! But that one - cannot outsource lah! Yes, I complain and whine about my kids, yet I won't want to return to working full-time. It's not hard to guess where my heart is. :)

Back to Halina: I wish I could tell her how much she meant to me during our stay here in Frankfurt. I know, no amount of Polish I know would help me express that - that's because I know none. Still, if I could speak perfect Polish, I wouldn't find enough words to thank her... I do hope she'll continue to find employment... I felt terribly sorry when I told her that we were leaving soon. If only I could have her come along to Singapore too...