The Chicas keep me healthy in the cabeza.

A few years ago my bridesmen and I were discussing run-of-the-mill chores that we'd much rather pay someone else to do, if we only had a bit more money to play with.  Mike Lake and I, being the much more truly rational beings when compared to Mike Mahan, dreamed of having house cleaners.  While Mike Mahan prides himself on being rational, his conclusions are often a little off from that of the general population.  Hence his top farmed out priority: having a driver.

"A DRIVER!?" Mike Lake asked incredulously.  "Hm, let's see, what would I rather do?  Drive myself to work every day, or wash my own toilets?"

I'm with Mike Lake.  I think Mike Mahan was just trying to flaunt the fact that he had experienced how luxuriously extravagant having a driver could be, but that's one of the reasons I love him so.

This past July marked the start of my salary reflecting what medical students everywhere dream of when signing their loan paperwork, then cashing a measly check that is meant to last the whole semester: my "full earning potential".  Or at least part of it since technically I'm 80% time.  I never went into medicine for the money, and I sure as hell didn't choose family medicine to make the big bucks.  But between a significant pay raise and being a busy mom, my time had come.

I think The Chicas started coming some time around October.  A co-worker had recommended them to me, and based on my description, my mother-in-law thought they might be the same house cleaners who used to clean for a family friend.  Ignacio, the family friend, hails from Spain.  The Chicas I believe are Mexican, and so Ignacio would refer to them as "The Chicas," and now so do Josh and I.  To each other, of course.  I hope no one is offended by that.

Anyway, The Chicas have essentially changed my life, or at least they do every other Thursday.  We often have a hard time prepping for The Chicas as neither Josh nor I are particularly neat people.  Heck, my sister moved out of our shared childhood room into the landing/hallway space just to free herself from my sea of clothes and used snot rags.  When I moan (quietly) about the frenzy that Chica prep requires, my friends and family often laugh and say how ridiculous it is that we "pre-clean" before our house cleaners come.

Let me be clear.  We don't pre-clean.  We put things away.  Things that we are too damned lazy to put in their rightful places when we come home from work, are finished with a given item, and so on.  If you have ever asked the "pre-clean" question, you obviously did not have house cleaners at the moment you asked that question.  I feel perfectly fine about leaving my compost rot on the counter, leaving crumbs on the kitchen table, leaving dust bunnies and dog hair lining the hallways, and leaving a rather disgusting toilet to be cleaned.  The Chicas are in the business of cleaning.  They are not in the business of picking up my crap.  This point goes along with the whole being neat vs. being clean thing, which I won't get into as I'm not particularly fond of endeavoring to be either of one those.

Sadly, our Chica prep often requires 1-2 hours of intense, dedicated work.  THAT is how lazy we are (we have a really small house and it still takes that long).  So yesterday I worked on the kitchen, and the massive islands of clothes that had accumulated despite our new, bigger hamper.  This morning I sped-straightened.  Two weeks ago we had to cancel on The Chicas as our house wasn't ready for cleaning--that was uncomfortable and embarrassing, and frankly disappointing as Josh was doing his best but just couldn't make it come together before 8:30 am.

I rejoiced as I walked in the front door this evening.  Clean floors, no more dust/hair second carpet in the living room, freshly changed sheets and nicely made bed.  The world again feels like my oyster.  I made a 5-minute Trader Joe's dinner as Josh is in the ICU this week which gives me insight into the world of single parenting (single parents: I bow to you completely)--I prided myself on not only being efficient, but on maintaining our clean counters and stove for one more day.

*sigh*  We'll see how long the clean lasts this time...