Old new wine

The night of 28th seemed strange to us - it is not often that we get the house to ourselves without the stifling though utilitarian presence of a live-in maid. The maid left, with a tinge of sorrow and tearful eyes as she bid Mira goodbye (Ash being asleep at the time of her departure), since she had been with us for over a year. She came here a skeleton, a victim of domestic violence from a drunkard spouse, and left healthy and strong, a strength doubled by the economic independence that a regular income, free boarding and lodging and a safe shelter brought. I hope her next assignment brings her more luck.

Things have been a lil hectic at home ever since the old maid left and the new one made her entry on March 1 with my inlaws. She is yet to settle down, so me and mil have been chipping in and I just about manage to depart for work at 1.45 pm (being on the evening shift this week, thankfully). Ash also has classes from 2 to 4.30 pm, so that gives me just enough time to give him his medicines, his oil massage and bath, his food not to mention getting him to do his homework, getting his uniform ironed and assembled, handling tantrums and fights in between, and remember to apply his eye and nose drops and his various medicines (as Ash would say, "Medicines for my eyes, my nose, my mouth, my sotthu and my chumbi). Mira who has a bad cough has been skipping school, so playtime and battle scenes quickly follow each other. She is turning out to be the more authoritative and autocratic sibling.

The new maid, Vilasini, is an old lady in her 50s who seems loving though she was homesick and snappy the first two days. She is dreadfully slow but her cooking is pretty good and not wasteful. I have requested the services of my old partimer Kala for doing the laundry since she seems incapable of handling too many things. V has decided to shelve washing machine plans once again since water scarcity is being felt with the onset of summer. He says he'd rather give a needy person a job than buy a machine on a loan :)