What You Don't Know About Your House Cleaning Lady

I think I started cleaning houses with my mom when I was in middle school. I would go during the weekends, or any day I didn't have work. It wasn't my favorite, it still isn't, but I knew it was necessary. In my community, and culture, it's common for young children to aid their parents in work. But I soon found out that the same did not apply to everyone. I made the mistake of telling another girl in one of my classes, who then proceeded to convince me it was illegal and a form of child labor. Looking back, I can see where she was coming from, but that wasn't the case for most of us. For us it was about survival. We would see our parents work multiple jobs, long hours and with too low of a pay. Working with them was our way of lightening the load. It wasn't always grueling work either. Cleaning can be quite therapeutic, especially when accompanied by the correct music. Sometimes, my parents would even use some of the money we made to buy my sister and I Starbucks after work. A frozen drink, containing more sugar than coffee, was my top order.

Years pass and I was able to start working at a "real job" when I was 17. It was only selling ice cream, but I finally had my own income. My mom didn't ask me to clean houses with her as often anymore, now she took my younger sister. Slowly I stopped depending on my parents for money. I would buy my own clothes, I paid for myself when I would go out. Even my sister was able to benefit from my new income because I would buy things for her as well. There were a few times I had to cover the bills because my parents didn't have enough. When I went to college I stopped working. With no car and a scattered schedule, finding a job in a new town seemed impossible. My parents continued working, and even added another job to their list, all so that I could go to school. When I would come home for the weekend, sometimes my mom would need me to help her clean a house. I would earn some extra change, which I would then use for college necessities.

Now I am a graduated college student. I thought everything would be different now. That I would have a steady paying job, that I would have the time to work on the next stage of my education, and especially that I wouldn't have to clean houses anymore. But COVID had a different idea. I am not where I want to be, and I occasionally still clean houses. But what keeps me going is the thought that someday I will be in a place in my life where I will be able to provide for my parents. Where then neither one of us will ever have to clean houses. I also know my parents are proud, of both my siblings and I. I know this because they bring it up to anyone who will listen. The owners of the house we clean every two weeks know that all three of us graduated high school and went into higher education. Owners of the house we clean every Tuesday know I want to be a surgeon, and that my brother is now working in his preferred field of work. And its no surprise that everyone know my younger sister is ready to make an impact, studying as a social justice warrior. When people pass on the streets they may just see a couple of cleaning ladies, but I see survivors, working hard to give their children a place in this world.