08 October 2011

Cleaning lady

She is a lovely, warm lady, and as soon as she came in the house, she put on her rubber gloves and got to work. Scrubbing, wiping, vacuuming, cleaning, and all of it with a smile on her face and jovial laughter.

Mum had been introduced to a cleaning lady, and today was the first day. It's reached a point that mum can't do simple chores like bending down or changing her bed sheets without feeling exhausted or is overwhelmed. I've been telling her for a while to get someone, and finally she did.

I smiled at her, and thanked her many times for coming by. At one point she turned to me and said, "You care about your mother so well..."

I almost cried on the spot. I don't know how she saw that. I wasn't doing anything in particular... Just made something simple for lunch, and asked mum to come eat. But the lady saw something. And she said: "There's only one mother, take good care of her..."

Mum looked at me and smiled. She was looking at me with pride, and quietly thanked me for being with her.

But I am only doing what I can, with whatever time I have. Nothing more, nothing less.

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