Because my parents both have full-time jobs it is an absolute must that we have a helper in our house.  That’s just the way it is; we couldn’t survive otherwise and I grew up in a house always with a helper around. 

Which is not to say that we’re slave drivers or anything; actually I’d have to say that the workload is pretty light, although of course in this household breakfast would have to be served pretty early as everybody has to go somewhere for the day.  But aside from that there’s just the cleaning and the cooking, as my mother’s even hired someone to do the laundry and the ironing.  The food and the lodging’s on us and days off are fine, as long as we’re notified beforehand so we’re prepared.

What’s the point, you ask?  Well I just wanted to drive home the point that life as our employee’s pretty freakin’ fit, albeit a bit lonely.  And I think past employees have taken that fact for granted.  I guess they became greedy or something because it always boils down to them taking advantage of us.  The last helper we’ve had, we’ve just found, took all of our fine bed sheets and linens home with her when she left.

I guess for some reason they think that we’re too nice.  That, or they think that we don’t care about our belongings.  They get bored, because everything becomes a routine and the place begins to be lonesome with everybody out of the house during the days.  And then they get it in their heads that we somehow couldn’t survive without them working for us, that we’ve somehow become dependent on them and their egos grow big so they justify their actions.

So when they quit or when my mother fires them they go with their noses held up high, forgetting how sweet of a deal it is to be employed under my mother’s household. 

But it doesn’t take long for them to get slapped around by reality when they’re back out there.  There they have to deal with spoiled children, crying babies, overbearing bosses and harsh working conditions.  By the time they realize this we’d have adjusted with a new helper in our house and life runs smoothly again.

It’s sad but most of our ex-employees always call my mother, asking for a second chance to work here.  Of course, by the time they come a calling we’d already have settled with another helper so we didn’t need the ex-helper’s services anymore.  Besides, I don’t think we need someone with an attitude problem anyway. 

One ex-helper even became sort of psychotic and called up our house during ungodly hours in the morning.  It was a good thing that our helper at the time had a good humor and spoke to her, listening as the ex-helper badmouthed our family.  Apparently my father’s a terror, my mother’s a bitch and I’m a frigid snob.  According to her, the only sane one in our family’s my kind brother.  Pffft. 

I just can’t get is why some people would deliberately throw away such chances at stability for something that’s unsure so easily.  Is it just greediness?  Is it just human nature?  If it is, I’m scared, because not having foresight is a scary thing.