Little white lies
Recently, I did something ultra sneaky. Something that was so devious and deceitful, but also so glorious and delightful. Something that was totally sinister, but bordering on genius. I lied to my husband and I hired a cleaning lady. (Hubby, if you're reading this, surprise!) I suppose I didn't actually "lie" to my husband, I just refrained from telling him that I hired a cleaning lady (and then gave the cleaning lady very specific instructions to make sure she gets out of the house before 3:00 so that she is gone before hubby gets home from work). Ok, so maybe it was a lie, and probably not something that you would find listed under the "how to make your marriage work" section of the marriage advice column, but it was a little white lie that left no victims, only a super clean and sparkling house and a much happier and more relaxed wife....so basically I gave my husband the best present he's ever had - he just doesn't know it yet.
But seriously, it is actually a big decision to have taken onto my own two shoulders, and in fairness, I probably would not be super pumped if my husband made a financial commitment or household decision like that before discussing it with me. The thing is, it was necessary for my mental health and well-being. I decided that even though it may not fit exactly into our little "monthly budgeting plan" bubble, that the benefits far outweighed the costs. Our lives, and specifically my list of to-dos, had gotten to a point where something had to give, and when I sat down and thought about it logically and realistically, this was the only place where I could reasonably see that happening.
Hubby and I had chatted briefly about hiring a cleaning lady a few times in the past, but for various reasons we (mostly he) decided that the two of us could handle the cleaning duties of our house on our own. We did what we did and we made it work, but with summer coming and the warm weather looming and a multitude of activities and commitments filling up so much of our "free" time, I decided that I just had to take the plunge and hire someone to keep my house clean for me so that I could spend my time at home doing other things. Let me tell you ladies - it is by far the BEST DECISION I've ever made. Instead of stressing about the fact that my bathrooms need to be cleaned, I'm outside playing with my children. Instead of wasting half of my day on Saturday doing housework, I'm packing picnic lunches and taking my family to the beach for the afternoon. Someone drops a glass of juice on my freshly cleaned floors??? No problem! No need to cry over spilt juice, I just wipe it up and don't worry about it because it's now someone else's problem.
Side note: we've had this cleaning lady for almost 2 months now and hubby still does not know. I mean, seriously??? When does he think the house is being cleaned? Does he think I'm like a magic cleaning fairy that only does my work at night while everyone in the house is sleeping??? So, for the time being I'm going to continue with my little white lie and I will cross the bridge of dealing with the consequences when (if) we get there. I'm working on the premise that it's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission....and if all else fails I may have to bribe him with sexual favours.
xo Michelle
