'Save it for later'

Since returning from our home visit, I have finally had time for some small projects around the house. The kids haven't started school yet so it's still pretty quiet around the compound. Thankfully, they seem content to just play or go to the pool - a much needed break for all of us. Since I brought heaps of stuff back from the US (uniforms, school supplies, birthday and Christmas presents, tons of shoes), the closets were overflowing and needed some purging. 

Whenever I come across clothes or shoes that the kids have outgrown, I just give them to my stewardess Venus. She either takes them for her own daughter who is older, but smaller than my daughter or she brings them to the "boys quarters" (the part of the compound many of the nannies and drivers live in) and she finds someone who needs something. I give her a lot of my things too - purses, shoes, jeans, tops. I have a ridiculous amount of work clothes that are just sitting in bins but I'm still struggling with how to part with them.

When I tackle a particularly huge project, I get a big trash bag and just start chucking stuff. Sometimes you have to be ruthless. I set aside as many little socks, tops, tees, shorts, and dresses for Venus to take but the rest was just not worth holding on to.

A day or two later, Venus humbly and politely approached me (as she always does) and asked me if I had meant to throw some things in the "bin". I looked at the pile of things and realized, with more shame than horror that she had actually fished them out of the trash. Lone socks with no partners, belts with no buckle, frayed headbands with the metal end sticking out, some really tired-looking kids underwear, even the kids' toothbrushes. I gave her a guilty-meets-innocent type of look; "Oh, did you want to bring these to the Quarters?"

Going through the pile, she explained to me her step-by-step plan for fixing and/or salvaging everything. I agreed to let her take most of it (even the coloring books where every single page was scribbled on) but told her since the kids had been sick over break, I just couldn't let her take their nasty toothbrushes. She told me she would sterilize them with the Milton liquid we use for the veggies. Even so, I showed her how the bristles were worn down but she just responded with her very polite and confident, "It's still good Madam". I mean, who can argue with that?

At one point she asked me about a pile of napkins that were actually baby wipes and had dried out long ago. I agreed to let her keep them and later noticed her using them to clean the kitchen counters. 

While I can accept there is life left in an old belt or that an underprivileged child won't care that their socks don't match, I draw the line at left-over food. Venus is a great cook and is constantly making food for us - more than we can consume. I often eat leftovers at lunch just so her hard work won't go to waste but more often than not, I encourage her to take food home that I feel won't get eaten in time. Occasionally, I pull some mysterious tupperware out of the fridge and ask her to pitch it but she consistently offers to freeze it for later, telling me yet again, "it's still good". Sometimes I think to just offer it to her but I already feel it's past the expiration date and feel guilty for even suggesting it. 

I mentioned this to a friend and she said she was shocked at how often her staff asked to take home food she was on the verge of throwing out. But she does it and just hopes no one gets ill. A neighbor of mine said his driver often wears the clothes he has given him to work, including shirts with his own monogram on them.

Yesterday, I found a tupperware container with some really soft vegetables and a fish head. Yes, a fish head. I recalled the day Venus made the fish but couldn't remember how long it had been since. If anyone knows what to do with a fish head, I'm sure it's Venus. 

Link to Lyrics I Love: 

Listen on Spotify: