The idea of housekeeping came up in a chat with a friend a
week and some days ago. Having just concluded a phase in our lives and
subsequently parted, we had no other means of interacting but via chats. But
this phase that brought us together was a remarkable one, if for no other
reason, the fact that it lasted a year than it was expected to last on paper.
Yes, it took us five years to complete our four-year degree course. This friend of mine left school before me
because I was not as fast as she was with the completion of my long essay.
Caring babe, she thought it good to check on me and my work. On telling her
that I was already home and on the verge of spending my second week at home,
she said that thing that has got me thinking since we ended our chat. 'Welcome
to the club of housekeepers,' she said, and added a LOL.
So there is such thing as the Club of Housekeepers? It was a
joke, or it sounded like one. But it is true. Whatever she meant by 'housekeeping' or by extension, 'housekeeper',
I established my own meaning for the term. For me, being called a housekeeper
does not necessarily have some denigration attached to it. You may disagree,
but I think this is where the idea of things being relative to different people
comes in. So, what does housekeeping mean to me?
I will start with what it is not. Housekeeping is not waking
at 10am and going straight to the dining table for breakfast. It is not sitting
all day with African Magic and its ilk while you punch LOLs and OMGs over
Instant Messaging applications. It is not having the whole night to dream and
fantasize about your crush. It may not be attending all church services there
are. And it would definitely be stepping on toes and learning to tender warm
apologies…
Housekeeping is having the burdens of a whole household –
Oga (your dad), Madam (your mum) and their pikins
(your siblings), as it is in my case - on your neck. God help you if yours is a
lanky one. Hence, housekeeping is waking before the first cock crows to have
your devotion. It is not dozing while the devotion lasts because another round
of sleep might spell doom. Another round
of sleep kwa? OYO is your case if you do that. Housekeeping is taking extra
time on the toilet seat just to make sure you read blogs and know what the
latest from Sambisa is. It is cooking up your next blog post, in your mind, while
washing Oga’s car. It is enjoying Norah Jones, John Legend or Gladys Knight
while making toast for breakfast. It is reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah and Charles Bukowski’s Women, and typing your blog post. You
would rather do these than have a nap at that time when everybody is out.
Housekeeping
is resolving to delay your nap till later at night. It is also taking selfies
and attending to your Facebook, Twitter and Blogger accounts while munching on
your toast. It could be flouting table manners. Housekeeping is preparing for better days, and with a good job. It is making the right connections. Housekeeping is cooking lunch
and swaying your cute bum to Dorobucci.
It is cooking dinner, your ears and mind plunged into your pool of downloaded
podcasts. Housekeeping is joining Oga and his family in watching evening soaps,
for just one hour o. Housekeeping is preparing for another day. It is
going to sleep early, and happy that you have maximised a day. It is calling
your girlfriend and asking how her day went. It is muttering that ‘I love you’,
just as it is hearing her do her favourite ‘kiss kiss kiss’ before closing your
eyes.
Housekeeping is multitasking; it is getting the most out of
the moment while you clear the path that leads to your comfort zone. As at
present, housekeeping is what I do. My comfort zone - getting a better engagement
- isn’t far away. I know. Yes, I’ll
just maintain my reputation as a good housekeeper, till I can gladly sing Suurulere.
1 comments:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Oyebanji. I agree that housekeeping requires a lot of multitasking. Not to mention that you work almost round the clock, just to make sure that everything has been done and settled. That’s why I respect those people who are doing this line of work. Their work description is something that cannot be described with just pen and paper. All the best!
Mary Hughes @ Sorted-PA
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