A Bitter Sweet Experience

Yesterday, Friday, 2nd November was a bittersweet experience in my household. Not life threatening anyway. The maid in the house, Sarah finally left us after she gave us a one month notice. One month notice!!!? Never heard that by house maids.
That she left our household is not the issue really. But, how and why do you want to write about a maid that left your household? That is the juicy part of the story.
We engaged a maid (Moriamoh) over 38 years ago, precisely in 1980 when we had our first child in Kaduna. She was like God sent at the time. Dutiful and cared for our son and assisted my wife in house chores. She stayed for over three years. But suddenly, she stopped and we were devastated. My wife and self were both in employment. In this situation, we had to make  arrangement for a replacement from same source Moriamoh came from. We got another maid that stayed few months, took off and cleaned the house out of the baby items (UK mothercare stuffs), my wife's jewelleries etc. All efforts to retrieve those items were in futility. Then we took the decision that wife will have to quit work to take care of our children. So, no maid.
Then came the era of the Beninoise house helps in Lagos and the South West. We requested my mother-in-law to send one to us in Kaduna. We got one eventually, Nestor. He was a workaholic. Works from morning till mid-night but not to take care of our son as madam was still off work. That is the difference between Sarah and Nestor.
Sarah joined us a little over two years ago. She and one other girl were presented to madam for interview. I was out of Abuja at the time. Madam picked Sarah. She resumed and in no time, she got a grip of what to do in the house. We observed her and she worked without supervision. She scheduled her time and knew when to clean and mop the house, laundry (wash and iron) tidy up the kitchen etc and at precisely 5pm, she closes and goes home. She is prompt at work in the morning and when the house bell rings at 09.03am on a daily basis, it must be Sarah. Not a minute past 09.03am.
Early this year, she lost a younger sister. It was a blow to her and we felt for her. She resumed work and continued in her diligent ways uptill last month when she gave notice to madam. This time too, I was away in Owerri and madam broke the news to me. The question I asked was :can we get someone like Sarah? Madam told me Sarah promised to bring another younger sister to take her place two weeks to her leaving. True to type, exactly two weeks, she brought a younger sister to understudy her. We watched them go through the duties. How Sarah put her sister through and how her sister watched and listened and how she took over gradually. One week plus of this handing over process, they got a call from home in Nassarawa State that their mother was seriously ill. Sarah sent her sister home to go check out the situation of their mother, while she continued work. Few days later, the news came that her mother eventually died. The cause? Typhoid. She went home for the burial. Burial over, Sarah resumed last Monday while the sister joined her on Wednesday to complete her final assignment in the house.
What really is touching is that Sarah gave one month notice because she was leaving our house for her husband and the wedding will be on the 17th of November,  2018. It was a joy for us that she met a husband to be while with us. On that note, we wished her well and accepted the sister she recommended. Yesterday was the time to say goodbye.
How do you say goodbye to a maid that became part of your household? A dutiful and diligent maid? A maid leaving your house for her day of her joy, happiness and to start her home and family? A day her late mother looked forward to and to play her motherly role at her wedding? When my wife and I called her yesterday for the final parting pep talk, she came dutifully, knelt down before us! We thanked her for the good work she did throughout the two years without our complaining. We counselled her, prayed for her and her marriage, admonished her as the eldest child of her mother to take over a mother role for her siblings and make her home comfortable for her husband. To always remember her father at this moment that he lost his wife. She listened to us stoically. We paid her off. Gave her parting gift. My daughters and daughter-in-law gave her lots of material items - dresses, shoes, jewelleries etc as they have done always in the past. She thanked us. As she left with her sister, my wife watched her all the way from our terrace building window until they took transport. The question we ask is: will there be another Sarah? Well, the consolation is that her sister will not let her down.
Please pray for Sarah in this her trying period. For her up coming wedding. For her marriage as she starts her home. For the comfort she needs away from home without a mother that just passed on. That is what Sarah needs now. Thank you for reading.

Edwin Osa Ogunbor