Have you ever cozied up in front of the television with a cup of
tea to watch a British period drama like ‘Jane Eyre’ or Miss Marple
Mysteries? Inevitably there is a
scene where someone has hired cleaning help or needs extra cleaning help. It’s always ‘we’ll send for a girl from
the village.’
Last year I joked with my mama that I needed to send to the
village for a girl to help with the cleaning. After decades of housework under my belt, it really
isn’t my favorite task. I’d much
rather spend the time in the kitchen trying a new recipe or in the closets and
cupboards getting everything organized.
So this week I decided to treat myself and hired a cleaning
service. I worked away in my
office one afternoon and listened to the young girls chatter in the other
rooms. Was I ever that
young? Thirty years ago- did
I have that much energy? And
it brought back memories.
Because back in the day I was that girl from the village. I started working as a hotel
chambermaid summers in high school and actually did that work full-time a couple
years in college to pay for tuition.
I’d layer all my college classes onto Tuesday and Thursday and work the
other five days at the hotel. But
before all of that, back my senior year in high school – I was that girl they
sent for to help out. An elderly
lady named Julia needed a nice high school girl to stay over on weekends and do
light housework and cook for her.
Julia was in her 80’s and liked things done a certain way. She had a full-time nurse during the
week and needed light coverage on weekends. So I’d get off the school bus on Friday night at her house
and my dad would pick me up late Sunday afternoon. She would have me dust and do meal preparations. I would tackle her laundry. I remember ironing the sheets and
towels. I know that was the
first time I saw someone put a plate atop a bowl to seal the contents rather
than use plastic wrap. I still do
it today and it works great. In
between all this ‘girl from the village’ time I was able to get my homework
done. After all – there was no
television allowed. She liked
listening to music. And we’d have
conversations. She told me stories
about her family. And so my senior
year this pattern continued until the spring when she took ill. One week I was told the nurse had to
stay for the weekend and then Julia was gone.
In my sophomore year of college when I was living in
Providence, Rhode Island, once again an inquiry came in for ‘a girl to help
out’ an elderly lady. So off I
went a couple afternoons a week to do housework. I can’t remember her name but she was very sweet. But she had a very large collection of
porcelain figurines to dust.
Shudder. I did that in addition
to two other part time jobs. Such
energy I had then.
And so I watched those two young women – the modern equivalent
of girls from the village. Life
has come full circle. Now I have
the opportunity to provide work for someone just starting out in life. May they too be blessed on their
life journeys. And as far as
what it’s like to have ‘the girls from the village’ in to do your housework? I think I could get used to this lady
of the manor routine. Is
Downton Abbey on yet?
