I'm telling you! She sold herself very well...A Mama. 42 years old. Three kids. Seriously looking for stability. We agreed after two interviews, the second being a face to face, on two weeks of training (her suggestion) and 3 months probation (mine). We then came home.
Day 1-7 was good.
Then she went to her former employer in Nakuru one Saturday to get the rest of her stuff. She came back with a suitcase of clothes; four handbags in different colours, two smart phones and lots of shoes and gold plated jewellery. I found her pushing nails into the accent wall in her room to hang those bags. Sema shock on me! The wall is of natural stone and the woman had made four holes in them. Hubby is yet to see that.
Ilianza na madharau kidogo kidogo... I call her thrice before she answers. Takes her time to come over. Walks away as I am speaking to her...such.
Then on Sunday, my parents from the Westside came to visit my Mum and Dad. I called her to ask her to keep close to her phone as we would be late coming in that evening, though we were already on the way. She did not pick up. When we eventually got into the estate gate, I called again and she picked on the second call. I asked her to come and open the gate as we were already in the estate and she said 'sawa' then she nkt-ed me as she puts the phone down. When I got in through the door, after everybody else had got into the house, she told me as she walked back to her room, 'na uwe ukibeba funguo zako'. I was like, 'kwa nini'? She said so that I would be opening for myself when I come home late.
From that point on, she was the full attitude and kufura. I ask her not to leave dishes in the sink at bedtime, she says she's feeling cold and can't wash them at night. She'd do them in the morning instead. I walked off telling her that they would not sleep in the sink. She must have drained half the underground water tank na hasira. But I had already decided she was on her way out so was looking for a replacement.
I had to work that day so I couldn't throw her out right then but kesho I told myself. Akiyanani! Your days are so up. Wewe endelea hivyo hivyo. By this point, I had began talking to myself, and it is not a good thing when I start doing this. I couldn't wait to throw her out. Thankfully my sister-in-law was working in my house and I had asked her to watch the kids for me and let the nanny do the manual stuff.
The day before I had asked her to open the gate as MIL and I were getting into the car to go to the supermarket and she said 'ngojea' and went to pepea the jiko ya makaa we use to make doggie food. MIL looked back at her and shangaad. I had also mentioned that she should have a quick look at the stairs since they were not swept and had things. This was at about 3pm...she said she was tired. Please note that she had only washed clothes early in the morning and washad the makaa for the dog food and nothing else. I had handled the kitchen all through for fear of her poisoning us. I did not trust her. I got back from the supermarket and went straight to the kitchen cut onions and stuff, made the stew and the ugali and skums and washed the dishes and swept and mopped the floor and did not say a word to her or look at her. 'Si you own this home and I am the nanny? Kindly sit down and relax. You think I need you that much? You sit and let me show you.' I talked to myself in my head! She was perambulating around me looking for something to do now that suddenly there was nothing to do. I could handle everything, at home as well as my office work.
I set the table, then asked her to come and eat. She refused to leave her room. I felt nothing.
The next day she was up scrubbing the bathrooms and sinks she had been saying she can't scrub every day. Surely. How long does it take to scrub a sink and toilet. (Or is that too much to expect. Am I too much to expect these areas to be cleaned daily?) Meanwhile, I was conducting phone interviews with two other nannies.
Then we had a confrontation over my daughter's loyalty. I had asked Siji to have her dinner before snacking which set her crying as she looked for sympathy somewhere! Anywhere! Since Mummy was not going to negotiate that rule. Nanny comes to ask her why she was crying and led her off to the kitchen where she loudly said, 'Mum ni mbaya. Wachana na yeye. Kuja nikukulishe.' I heard it.
Seconds before she had gone into the kitchen to get Siji her favourite bowl that was in the fridge with some leftovers and had loudly bitched, 'kwani hii ndio bakuli yenye anaeza kula nayo pekee'. I said yes. Hiyo ndio bakuli atatumia, so wash it na uilete hapa. The child was a finicky eater...if she was happier eating in the small yellow bowl, that is what she would be served in. Period.
I was in the living room.
My head by this time was just knokiing...and saying now this chick has only just met me. She's seen a kasmall polite mama who says please and thank you and doesn't raise her voice. Heh! Hivi hanijui vizuri...
I walked into the kitchen and asked Siji to go and eat. The woman held onto her and refused to let go. I actually had to tell her to let the child go. Then I told her to sit down, we needed to speak. 'Niko sawa. Nitasimama' she said. I asked her what the problem was, what was this attitude she was onto? She told me that I should stop fuatafuataring her. I should just keep quiet, sit down and look at the quality of her work since 'ninajua kujipanga'. This was all very interesting considering that I had come home several time that week to give Siji her bath after dark in this cold weather because the nanny had somehow not managed to jipanga herself enough to give the child her bath when she got home from school at noon. Yet she was always in her room in the afternoons.
I walked into the kitchen and asked Siji to go and eat. The woman held onto her and refused to let go. I actually had to tell her to let the child go. Then I told her to sit down, we needed to speak. 'Niko sawa. Nitasimama' she said. I asked her what the problem was, what was this attitude she was onto? She told me that I should stop fuatafuataring her. I should just keep quiet, sit down and look at the quality of her work since 'ninajua kujipanga'. This was all very interesting considering that I had come home several time that week to give Siji her bath after dark in this cold weather because the nanny had somehow not managed to jipanga herself enough to give the child her bath when she got home from school at noon. Yet she was always in her room in the afternoons.
Grrrr!
She said that she was joking about the 'bad mother' statement and I asked her if she thought Siji understood that?
By this time, I was telling myself not to throw her out at night because first my dogs would have had a bite of her and then there would be some drama in the estate. Mscheew. So I shikiliad myself and let her think that she was off the hook and the conversation ended with my telling her that she was not ever going to say such things to my children. She smiled and went to bed.
When Mr Hubby came in, he found me just from the kitchen after our conversation. I told him that she would have to leave first thing before he left for work. She couldn't say and I had a feeling that I wouldn't manage to throw her out after Hubby left for work.
I woke up early the next morning, put her cash in an envelope with the breakdown (I later sent an M-pesa for evidence (sitaki nonzenze mimi) and I went down (Oh! She had said she wants to be getting up at 5:30am not 5:15am since she can prepare everything quickly before my son is ready for breakfast (this was during that conversation we had the night before) so she was not yet awake when I got to the kitchen. I personally wake up at 5:20am everyday to prepare the kids for school.
I did not want her handling the food, she could spit into it or poison it...there was something about her that my spirit was very unhappy with. She had a kaanger around her and my sixth sense also told me to make sure I was not alone when I was dismissing her as she would kwama or become violent.
When Hubby came down to breakfast, he asked me to come with her to the living room. He told her that he had heard that she was rude and disrespectful of me and that she could no longer work for us. That she was fired since I was not happy with her. Ngoja a woman starts insisting that she can change. Eti kama kuna shida unaniambia na ninaweza kurekebisha. But the night before during the conversation, I told her she was being rude and disrespectful and she had said with madharau and eyes closed that she 'sioni kitu nimefanya ya madharau hapa'. And she even at some point spoke while pointing at me.
She then turned to me when she saw Hubby was not going to discuss this, plus he was running late for work. 'Mama Robe. Si tuliongea Jana tukasikizana.' I told her straight up that she has been disrespectful yet this was my house and my home. 'You want to do things your way in my house? I cannot live with you. Just pack and go.' She pleaded with Hubby and saying that she had many problems and really needed the job and the way she can't even raise her hand against somebody or hold a knife at her boss as we see into the papers.
Now where did that come from?!!!
Aki I have never been more traumatised. Just that morning I had moved the knives from their drawer to another because I had the fleeting thought that she could threatening me with the biggest of them all, had I tried to fire her when I was alone at home. Then here she is mentioning threatening her boss with a knife. The woman had serious psycho potential! I had sensed it, my sixth sense had brought it to my mind too.
Intuition is so important.
Never ignore that voice in your head. As you keep listening to it, it will becomes stronger and clearer and will save your life for sure, just as often as you listen to it and do.
