I often try to help people who are supposed to help me.  That was the case this week when I told my home health care agency not to worry about replacing the woman who does my cooking and housekeeping.  I really care about people and do not expect anything in return but to be given the care that I deserve.  So what happened today?  I gave her a break and in return, she gave me a kick in the teeth!

This woman has been living in the United States for seven years.  She came to this country from Ghana.  She is married and has three children.  I have had trouble understanding her speech from the first moment I met her.  The more often I have been around her, the easier it has become to know what she is saying. 

She is supposed to work for me two hours each day doing my cooking, housecleaning, grocery shopping, going to the drugstore for my medicines, and getting my mail.  I do not have her do everything each day, but do various things on various days.  If she finishes a little early, I let her leave.

One reason I wanted to have her replaced was because she told me she did not know how to cook anything but rice and fish.  I like different food.  About a week after I asked to have her replaced, I learned that she had been kidding around when she told me she did not know how to cook.  It is a good thing she told me because she almost lost her job that way.  I called the agency again and told them that I would work things out with her and that she could continue working for me. 

The first time I asked her to make a hamburger, she said she did not know how to do it and asked me to tell her.  I did just that along with one of my friends.  She made two hamburgers for me.  One was about the size of a quarter and the other the size of a half dollar. 

Getting my mail is easy.  All she has to do is walk to the end of the building where the mailboxes are located.  I could do that myself if they were within my reach, but they are not.  Each time she gets my mail, she insists that I go with her.  I do not like that, but I try making a joke out of it. 

When she came in my apartment today, the first thing she said was, "I have to run."  I said not right away, because I had work for her to do.  She practically ignored me completely.  She made my dinner, made my bed, got my mail, and then left.  She was here for a total of 25 minutes, rather than her two hours.

It did not pay me to give her a break by keeping her.  Day by day, she treats me more as if I am working for her rather than the other way around.  As I said earlier, I am getting a "kick in the teeth." 

Life Quotes:

"I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific."
-- Lily Tomlin