Every year my husband and I host what we call our “Barbecue Extravaganza” where we invite our family and our closest, dearest friends. We both look forward to entertaining and celebrating the end of summer with the people we cherish. As you can imagine there is quite a bit of planning that goes into this event. We have to plan the menu, the activities and prepare our home for the attendees. Of course the food and activities don’t require much thought. However, preparing our home is the piece I don’t always look forward to.
As a working mom my days seem to run right into each other and I never feel as though I have enough hours in the day. Couple that with how tired I am after work and I find I don’t have enough energy left to do anything else. I work a full-time job during the day, start my other job as a parent when I get home and work my other business during the evenings. Some days I am completely drained. So, this time I hired help.
Yep, I said it and I confess. For the first time ever I called in a house cleaning service to clean my home; not my whole home, just 3 rooms. At first, I went around and around about it and even felt guilty. I should be able to clean my own house, right? Of course I am able, but sometimes I am just plain old tired and I don’t want to. The decision to call a cleaning company was actually one of the best I have ever made.
First, I did my research and read reviews and selected the best and most reasonable service. Once the cleaning crew (of 1) arrived I honestly didn’t know what to do with myself. Part of me wanted to help out and the other part felt as though I should appear busy so he wouldn’t think I was too lazy. As I thought more about it, I came to the conclusion I actually deserve this. After my house was spotless and I shared with the cleaner how great everything looked I also shared my reservations. I mentioned how guilty I felt in the beginning with hiring a service. He assured me there was nothing to feel guilty about because this was an afforded luxury and he thoroughly enjoys the work. Immediately I released every little ounce of guilt because he was right.
Sometimes busy parents need a little relief. I made the decision that it’s okay for me to receive that sort of assistance when I need it. Whenever I feel overwhelmed and tired again, you bet I will be calling on my new cleaning service.
BMWK, would you feel guilty about hiring help?