To get or not to get..

...a maid. That is the question. Its been three weeks since we are here and I am still trying to solve this question.

Pros

1) I don't have to do that much work. It will make me lazy, but that is in the long term.
2) I get to spend more time devising ways of improving this blog ;)
3) Can get the place washed everyday. It will be much cleaner and I will be much happier.
4) Even if that model of Washing Machine is going to be a month late in coming, at least I don't have to wash the clothes etc.
5) When parents come over, both my mom and his mom always do most of the stuff at home. Making food is enjoyable, doing the dishes is not. And they don't leave it for me to come and do. No matter how much I tell them, they are the ones that do everything. And I don't like to strictly impose rules because when they don't feel free at home, they don't like to stay for long. The only option to get the best of both paths is to have someone help do the non-enjoyable jobs.


Cons

1) I have never been used to having a maid. My mom never had one. When I think of how much she used to do, I am amazed. Almost everyone I knew had helpers at home. My mom never did. She managed on her own and I can't even completely comprehend how she used to do it. A huge hats off to her! So anyway, point is, I am not used to having a maid, my mom and my consequent stay in the US have ensured that ;)
2) It will make me lazy. And once I have a maid and I am used to it, I have to face it, if she ditches me one day, I will panic. Because now I am simply no longer capable of helping myself :(
3) Another person at home, especially one that comes and goes everyday no matter how good he/she is and how many years you have known him/her, you can just never feel free to throw things around at home. And I am sort of used to not having anyone but family at home. I keep things here and there. Now when I can't find something I know it has to be somewhere at home because it simply can't have gone anywhere. But when I have a maid, it will be different. That will be the first point of suspicion and if he/she turns out to be guilt-less, that will be a guilt-trip for me. Too much morality to think of here ;)
4) Maids any day are known to shirk work at least once in a while. That notwithstanding, I am a bad supervisor. When someone is doing something I expect them to do it at least as well as I do. And maids will never be that way. If someone does a job imperfectly, I tend to have a nervous breakdown usually. So if today she cleans the floor and I get to find a bad spot after that, I will be raving mad, and I know it. Same with dishes.
5) When I meet friends here and I hear them talking endlessly of their maid-woes, I go "Do I want to have something to contribute to this conversation?".

Subhash asks me everyday if I have inquired about a maid yet. And everyday I say no. And every day he says "Why don't you get one I don't want you to do all this work". And every day it remains a question. But I think I will get a maid soon, like Subhash says, if I don't like what she does, I can always do it over. That way house is definitely much better run that if it was just me doing everything.