Boundaries on Privacy

Don’t get me wrong I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth as I love having other people clean my house, I just wonder where the line is drawn and/or if it is if you come from a life of luxury and privilege if you look at things differently. What I’m contemplating today is if you are comfortable and when, completely comfortable with cleaning people in your home.

My conundrum is that my cleaning crew – 3 very nice Mexican/American women get to my house at 8 am on Monday mornings and from then on I am uncomfortable. I am barely up. I actually get up FOR them. So, then I have to stay out of their way. I feel like an intruder in my house, as if I’m in their way and I hate that. I AM in their way, so I try to be as unobtrusive as I can be, I go outside if it’s nice, with a cup of coffee, and read. I go upstairs if they’re working downstairs, or vice versa. I’m assuming that’s as good as it gets?!

Lately, as I’m recovering from surgery, I need to be home to heal so it’s more of a problem. If  I greet them then go out it’s great, no problem. Unfortunately, my son has been here to be my driver for Dr. appointments so he has also been here when he would avoid the house on Monday mornings like the plague, so it has been brought much more to my attention.

I was not raised with cleaning people. My mother was a stay-at-home Mom who took pride in her home and kept it spotless. It was a showcase home that she entertained her friends and family in, but we were not of the status where they were expected to have cleaning people nor would my mother have let anyone else have done HER job.

Fast forward to me. I have always been a little spoiled. Just my personality, as the youngest of four, perhaps?  Always striving for more and better, that’s me. With my first house, I toiled and labored constantly and kept it spotless myself. I had a cleaning lady once in a while but thought I did just as well myself, so why pay for it when I could do it?

We moved up to much bigger house now in Arizona, 5 bedrooms, 5 baths. No way would I or could I clean that. Yuk, on all those bathrooms, especially since they are boy’s bathrooms. We can afford cleaning people, in they come….yay! But how do you become naturally comfortable with them in YOUR house?

I’m usually pretty relaxed …I just go about my business. If I want to sit in my living room, I do. It’s mostly if my boys are home from college, they get all uncomfortable. They feel displaced in their own home. I know it’s only for a few hours, but I’m trying to teach them how to deal with it. They get up out of their beds, say “Hi”, but don’t know what to do with themselves. It’s kind of funny. So, is it just guys, not of the manor born? Will they get the hang of it, it’s been 5 years, come on…well, they were in school most days so they didn’t have to DEAL with it. . . is it just me being a chick worrying over nothing, women figure things out, guys don’t. . .at least we have a clean house AND I don’t have to do it. . . it’s just one of those things, I think.

(C)  Written by Evelyn Garone 4/4/2011