This post follows Episode 1 HERE.
The Cockroach-in-Law lived in a self-catering apartment on the 1st floor of our house. It contained a kitchen (3 times larger than what you would find in many condo apartments), a bathroom, a bedroom and a living room. In all, she enjoyed about 1000 sq ft. We gave her 4 walls worth of floor to ceiling storage cupboards.
Once a week, our helper went over to help with the heavier chores. As the weeks wore into months, and months progressed into years, the apartment began to look like the slums of New York or Parisian HLMs. The personal insanitary habits of my Cockroach-in-Law were such that, to keep the place acceptably clean, she would need a full time helper all to herself.
What insanitary habits, you might ask? For starters, she was too lazy to walk 5 steps to the toilet bowl to pee. She would pee as she showered in the shower cubicle. So the bathroom smelled of pee the day after it had been washed and disinfected.
Next, she hoarded. As the seasons of my life passed, clothes, toys, books etc ... all fell out of use. I packed them into bags to give away. Whatever I packed to give away, she would drag back into her home much like a cockroach would drag off morsels of meat and bread. These bags of potentially recyclable waste sat on the floor of her apartment. They blocked walkways and spilled out from under the bed. Meanwhile, the storage cupboards stayed empty.
Then, there was uneaten food left all over. In my own kitchen, not a single morsel of food is left out over night. That is the surest way to get rats and cockroach infestations.
Not surprisingly, my helper found rats nesting under the Cockroach-in-Law's bed, and even behind the TV commode. Suggestions to put away unused items into the ample cupboards were met with anger and my helper was roundly scolded.
As the clutter built up, her resentment against me grew. More than once, she ventured to ask me if I had cupboard space to store some stuff for her. Since her own cupboard space stayed empty, I could not understand why she wanted to use my cupboard space. When I left the house, my Cockroach-in-Law would scuttle on her insect feet into my Master Bedroom. She peeked her cockroach feelers into my cupboards and brooded enviously at how spacious my room was, and how little living space she had.
I guess it was her cockroachian nature compelling her to sneak about and try to spread her dirt, her grime and her clutter, whilst at the same time envying me my neat and tidy spaces.
Her apartment became so dirty that I asked if she would like her own helper. The Cockroach-in-Law refused. Meanwhile, the Cockroach-in-Law's daily habits created dirt much faster than my helper could reasonably be expected to manage.
My Cockroach-in-Law resented my helper for not making sure that her toilet smelled as fresh as mine. What the Cockroach-in-Law does not know is that I clean up after myself after every shower in my bathroom so as not to overwork my helper, and of course, I do not pee in the shower cubicle.
Again, if you have not suffered, you don't know joy. My helper used to get tension headaches 3 to 4 times a week from the stress that the Cockroach-in-Law inflicted upon her. Now, her days are filled with joy and headaches are a thing of the past. The helper now often tells me how happy she is and enumerates the blessings in her life.
She loves life now too!
No comments:
Post a Comment