The Helper

Being a working mum is definitely the toughest job in the world. One has to divide her time equally between work and family. Often, a working mum struggles because clearly it always been spending more time on work than with the family. And I have to admit, I am one of those working mum. Hence, having a helper is very important especially when you're away for work.

When I was pregnant, I told my parents that I don't want to send my future children to the nursery because one, with the recent cases of babies found dead under the care of the nurseries, I'm traumatized. I do not want to face that kind of situation, nauzubillah minta simpang! Two, hygiene factor; There are too many children under their care hence the surrounding is questionable and lastly, security reasons. Engaging with a full time maid is also not our option unless if we desperately couldn't find any helper.

When Iman was born, my husband and mother took turn looking after Iman. Izwan was still engaged with Astro then hence his working hours was more flexible. My mother will look after Iman in the morning and Izwan in the afternoon. 

Luckily, at that time, we managed to find a reliable helper. Her name is Rita. She works as a cleaner at a school nearby and she'll come by our house in the afternoon to look after Iman. She was our helpful helper for almost a year. We actually wanted to take her as our full time helper but unfortunately, her employer doesn't allow her. And since she has to work two shifts now (morning and afternoon), she can no longer come to our house to look after Iman. And there goes another round of searching for a helper.

We were going up and down searching for a helper. Like I mentioned, engaging with a full time maid is not our option. Dengan case yang bukan-bukan lagilah tak nak ambik maid. Dengan berkat usaha dan bantuan, Alhamdulillah we managed to find one helper who can work full time. By full time means, 8 hours job. She does not need to stay with us. She will only need to come in the morning and we'll send her back at night when everyone is back from work. Mula-mula tak convince juga sebab dia muda sangat. Tapi, Alhamdulillah, sangat reliable. She is like a family to us now.

Her name is Linda. She's turning 20 this year, I think. Very young. She can't speak BM that fluent but she understands English very well. She has been Iman's best friend for a year now. She has been a very helpful helper, MasyaAllah, I owe it to her. If it wasn't because of her, I don't think I can survive this motherhood. I would probably have to quit my job and do not sign-up with the Masters programme. She has been treating Iman very well. And because of that, we treat her like our own family members. Tapi yang sedihnya, she only wants to jaga Iman until Iman turns three lepas tu she plans to balik kampung (Indonesia). I hope she'll change her mind.

Kadang-kadang, susah nak cari orang yang boleh dipercayai. Tapi bila dah jumpa, bersyukur sangat. Sebab tu, I don't mind paying her extra or get her gifts every time I'm out for holiday. I don't think she'll ever read this but if she does (memang taklah kan), I hope she knows how thankful we are for all the help she has put in, looking after Iman when we're not around. Thank you so much! Moga Allah saja yang membalas jasa baik kamu sekeluarga. Amin.