by cklaurence » Fri Aug 13, 2010 11:32 am
GOOD MORNING SWITZERLAND! The season has surely begun now. Some interesting games last night for sure; however, I have to keep reminding myself that it is just pre-season--which in the course of things, means very little. (Save for those injuries--OMG, killer! I don't wish them on ANY team...)
As for me, Em. We had NO staff of servants when I was growing up, just someone who came 2 days a week: 1 day for cleaning and 1 day for ironing. I DID, however, have a great deal of help when my kids were growing up. Our home is quite large, and having had 4 children in 5 years AND being a working mom, I clearly needed help. Fortunately, I had my own businesses most of the time (save for when I worked campaigns), so I was able to have my children with me "on the job." We had our production company and "Claudia's Kitchen" in the same building (10,000 square feet). Claudia's Kitchen took off so quickly and went so big, that I left the business of casting for movies and commercials, as well as working on the sets as a production assistant, and converted the entire building for the business of sweets. I had a section of the building set up as a day nursery for my little ones, and employed two of my aunts to help me with the kids while I worked.
It was a wonderful set-up and some great years to remember. I had Joy, my present housekeeper (more of a dear friend at this point) to take care of the house (and as a treat for my kids, if they were good, they got to spend a day or two with Joy, who they adored almost as much as I did/do). Joy has been with me on and off for about 28 years. She can't be cloned because there's no chance of making another Joy--they definitely broke the mold).
Joy was amazing with the children! I used to tease her that my daughter Emily was going to grow onto her hip, where she carried her every minute they were together. Joy moves refrigerators and other appliances; does windows; cooks; cleans tirelessly, with never a complaint AND she's a certified nurses aide. She gets me up every morning around 6:30 and takes me walking for one to two hours every day but Sunday, and then after I've showered and done some of my chores, she gives me a massage! She always does way more than asked (yesterday she had nothing to do, so she did the gardening in the back yard...picked up all the mangoes, trimmed back trees, took up all of the dead stuff (after which the gardeners came, and got full pay for doing next-to-nothing). She is truly one of the finest human beings I've ever known and I love her as I would love a sister, if I had one. My family and I were truly blessed when she walked through our door all those years ago.
She has already told me, though, that when my daughter Emily has a baby, she is gone from me. She's waited all these years to take care of Emily's family. She and Emily love each other and our good fortune will be transferred to Em's family in the not-too-distant future (I HOPE). As much as I will hate losing Joy, I'll get to see her when I go up there to NJ to visit my grandbabies.
It's no easy life being a Dolfan...