The book “The Help” made me reminisce about the maid we had a few days a week when my family lived in a southern city for a year when I was 4. I adored her. My mom was stressed with having a newborn and needy toddler as well as me. Mae came and cleaned but also spent time with me and my sister. I loved the more peaceful days when she was around. My mother always offered lunch, but she would never sit at a table with us.
Later, I cleaned houses a bit in California just after high school. The pay was better than minimum wage, and there was some flexibility to the work. Somehow I ended up cleaning with one woman for a number of years. Her husband actually had a title in Europe. She always worked right along side me, and I did learn a lot about cleaning from her. she was encouraging to me in my studies, very precise in her expectations, and she always offered tea and cookies at a point. I think she enjoyed the companionship, as I did as well.
In Asia, my dad had a maid that he tried to fire a number of times, as she had a tendency to not understand and follow directions fully. She refused to move out, and so she stayed on. He had a stroke, and that maid became invaluable in caring for my dad at home. Eventually her sister moved to Bangkok and the two of them worked 12 hours on and 12 off, caring for my dad in his demented state. for a few years till he died. She stayed with my step mom for a few more years, eventually returning to her home city. The two of them had a nice companionship, sometimes a bit quarrelsome, but also sweet in a way. My stepmom was quite sad when she left.
All of these situations made me aware of how the companionship of home helpers benefits both parties at times in intangible ways, connecting those of different class backgrounds, and easing loneliness in unexpected ways.