As many of you know Mike & Chris have been renovating their house @ 14 Pine Street and had hoped to have it mostly finished by the time we arrived. Due to circumstances beyond their control renovating stopped suddenly and very little has been done over the last couple of months. There is a beautiful big space that looks out over Lake Runemede, but no partition walls, flooring, a rather large perfectly square hole in their floor, no kitchen, electricity, plumbing and no way of getting to the up stairs ... so they had to find temporary accommodation and today we had to move out of that accommodation for new tenants that are moving in tomorrow. What a job!!
Packing up house, shifting it and cleaning up the house is exhausting and stressful work. We have done it quite well with no blow ups or breakages ... yet. We have all moved into Brig & Chelle's home with their 3 children ... the excitement for lars & Roxcy to be with their big cousins. We fit in perfectly ... at the moment. Pete and I will be moving into the Inn on Sunday for our last week here in the States. We have used this opportunity to pack our three outfits into our new packs to see how everything fits ... we have done it! But that is another post.
Mike had Cindy and Dominique, who he employs to clean the Inn and rental properties when they are vacated, to come in and clean 18 Pine Street after we had moved everything out and I did a bit of cleaning with them. I spent a couple of hours with them and really enjoyed their company ... they did an amazing job ... from top to toe ... 18 Pine Street was looking spic and span when they had finished and moved on to their next cleaning job.
As I worked with them and observed them I realised how intimate cleaning with someone else is. Cindy and Dominique had a comfortable intimacy between them that only comes from spending hours working along side each other. I reflected on the times that I have helped someone clean their house, the women that I have worked alongside as we have cleaned and talked, shared stories, laughed and cried. The women who have come into my home to help me clean and pack, the richness of those times and the closeness I felt with them for a few hours. A moment that stands out for me is when we were shifting from Doncaster Street back to Dominion Ave in 2012, about a year after the Feb 22, 2011 EQ. I felt completely done in ... Cathy Matthews had come over to help me clean up Doncaster Street and we were working in one of the bedrooms together and I fell back against the wall, burst into tears and said "I feel completely broken Cathy". She didn't really do much or say much ... she came over and put her hands on my shoulders and said a few words and I felt comforted, an intimate and vulnerable moment for both of us. Some women I have cleaned alongside I have not known very well at all and after a couple of hours working alongside them that has all changed ... I have had some really lovely relationships develop doing Women's Work.
Cindy & Dominique are Mothers and cleaning is what they do for work and fit around their families schedules. They really enjoy their work and they enjoy working together. They are interesting, competent, capable women that really made a difference for us today. I know that I could not have done what they did with such good humour, good energy and do a good job. There was something incredibly powerful in who they were and what they were doing ... their work and who they are is anonymous ... they come in after everyone is gone and are gone before the next tenant moves in. But their influence or presence remains ... in that moment when the new tenant opens the door, goes to use the oven, puts their food in the fridge, uses the bathroom ... everywhere they look Cindy & Dominique have cleaned. They have made someones first experience of moving into their new home something exciting and pleasurable. For some reason today I have found this deeply moving and incredibly powerful ... today I have felt the immense power, connection and intimacy of Women's Work.
Packing up house, shifting it and cleaning up the house is exhausting and stressful work. We have done it quite well with no blow ups or breakages ... yet. We have all moved into Brig & Chelle's home with their 3 children ... the excitement for lars & Roxcy to be with their big cousins. We fit in perfectly ... at the moment. Pete and I will be moving into the Inn on Sunday for our last week here in the States. We have used this opportunity to pack our three outfits into our new packs to see how everything fits ... we have done it! But that is another post.
Mike had Cindy and Dominique, who he employs to clean the Inn and rental properties when they are vacated, to come in and clean 18 Pine Street after we had moved everything out and I did a bit of cleaning with them. I spent a couple of hours with them and really enjoyed their company ... they did an amazing job ... from top to toe ... 18 Pine Street was looking spic and span when they had finished and moved on to their next cleaning job.
As I worked with them and observed them I realised how intimate cleaning with someone else is. Cindy and Dominique had a comfortable intimacy between them that only comes from spending hours working along side each other. I reflected on the times that I have helped someone clean their house, the women that I have worked alongside as we have cleaned and talked, shared stories, laughed and cried. The women who have come into my home to help me clean and pack, the richness of those times and the closeness I felt with them for a few hours. A moment that stands out for me is when we were shifting from Doncaster Street back to Dominion Ave in 2012, about a year after the Feb 22, 2011 EQ. I felt completely done in ... Cathy Matthews had come over to help me clean up Doncaster Street and we were working in one of the bedrooms together and I fell back against the wall, burst into tears and said "I feel completely broken Cathy". She didn't really do much or say much ... she came over and put her hands on my shoulders and said a few words and I felt comforted, an intimate and vulnerable moment for both of us. Some women I have cleaned alongside I have not known very well at all and after a couple of hours working alongside them that has all changed ... I have had some really lovely relationships develop doing Women's Work.
Cindy & Dominique are Mothers and cleaning is what they do for work and fit around their families schedules. They really enjoy their work and they enjoy working together. They are interesting, competent, capable women that really made a difference for us today. I know that I could not have done what they did with such good humour, good energy and do a good job. There was something incredibly powerful in who they were and what they were doing ... their work and who they are is anonymous ... they come in after everyone is gone and are gone before the next tenant moves in. But their influence or presence remains ... in that moment when the new tenant opens the door, goes to use the oven, puts their food in the fridge, uses the bathroom ... everywhere they look Cindy & Dominique have cleaned. They have made someones first experience of moving into their new home something exciting and pleasurable. For some reason today I have found this deeply moving and incredibly powerful ... today I have felt the immense power, connection and intimacy of Women's Work.
Meet Dominique & Cindy
Who doesn't love a clean fridge?
Welcome ...
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