Good Riddance: Sending Yaya Away

It's final; we finally sent Honey away. But it wasn't the civil, peaceful sendoff I was hoping for. No, it was the kind of sendoff Honey wanted: dramatic and scandalous, the stuff telenovelas are made of, with matching police presence to boot.

Get ready for a looong read.

You all know what happened last Sunday when she skipped classes and went back home at past midnight wearing a skimpy dress. Apparently, getting scolded didn't sit well with her because she just wants to do what she wants to do. So she asked for an updated list of her debts so that she can go. Being so busy, my mom declined, telling her na next time na lang if she finds the time to look for it.

THE DEBT

But she was adamant. I asked why. She said her mother was going to pay daw. I asked, does she already have the money? No pa daw. I told her, do not demand my mother to look for the list (my mom isn't the most organized person in the world) just so you can look at it.

In fact, she just looked at it recently and could've told her mother the amount she remembers; tutal wala pa namang pera. Also take note that we never asked her to pay. We were even willing to forget about it (which explains why we need to look for the list).

HER LAST NIGHT

A lot of things happened pa that evening, but those would take up too much space. Let me list the highlights na lang in bullet form:

1. She wanted to take a photo of the list to post it on Facebook. (Huh?! What for? To make an issue or evoke sympathy?)

2. With her track record, she had the gall to tell me why we say she's a liar.

"Giunsa diay ta mo na inyo kong ginaingnan na bakakon?"

[Whatever have I done to you? Why do you call me a liar?] I've written a number of posts about her lies, and those are just the tip of the iceberg.

TRIVIA: Did you know that there was a time when she told us her mom had cancer because she badly wanted to go home? Her mother is still alive and healthy, thank you very much. What kind of daughter would do that?!

3. She told us that she tried to recall the number of times she went home, and it didn't reach 20. We reminded her that in 2012, she went home almost twice a month every month; sometimes 3x or 4x. In 2013, she went home maybe around 15. Just this year, she has already gone home 6 times. She had gone to school since 2013, so she skips classes to go home. In the end, she said she forgot about the other times na daw. The truth is she probably wasn't really going home in the first place, which explains her minimal count.

That was Wednesday evening. Let's fast forward to Thursday morning.

EARLY MORNING DRAMA

Early in the morning, while my mother was cooking breakfast, she told my mom that someone would pay for her debt na daw. Who? She said it's her aunt daw. My mother asked where this aunt lives; she said Cotabato. She's going here daw on Saturday night to pay because she has a flight on Sunday morning.

That made Mama suspicious. If she had an early flight on Sunday, why would she have to go to our house just to pay a debt that wasn't even hers? Can't she just wire the money?

Long story short, it turns out that the "aunt" she was referring to was the maid of our neighbor. Now she said she's her cousin na naman daw. Ano ba talaga?! And she lived here in the village for almost 3 years; ngayon biglang may pinsan sya in a house that was very near ours? #compulsiveliar

The house

SCANDAL

It was clear that she planned to transfer to that house to work. My mother didn't like that and told her she should find another job outside the village. Actually, my mother wanted her to go home to their province; she wanted her relatives to pay for her debt. Why? She's a compulsive liar. She would undoubtedly spread false rumors about us if she stays here. More importantly, she already knows every corner of her house and she knows what time we retire; what can stop her from breaking in?

Our ever grateful yaya began answering back to my 52-year old mother and said,

"Wala kay karapatan ingnan ko unsa akong buhaton!"

[You don't have a right to tell me what to do!]

That came from our 18-year old ex-yaya, whom we have enrolled in a private college, whom my mother continously supported (she made her assignments and projects for her), whom she decided to keep sending to school despite this, and whom she treated like nothing short of a daughter.

My mother insisted that she has to have her debt payed by her relatives only. She told Honey that since they can't pay now, she can go home but leave some of her things here. Then when they can finally pay, she can get them back. My mother asked for her cellphone to call Honey's mother. What did Honey say?

"Dili pwede! Akua nung cellphone! Wala moy katungod kuhaon ni kay mao na lang gani ni ang naa ko!"

[No, you don't have a right to get my phone! This is the only thing I have!]

Huh?! My mother lost her cool after getting insulted by this person a lot of times so early in the morning. She asked for the phone again but she just passed by her. Angrily, my mother grabbed her arm and accidentally grabbed her hair because she wouldn't give her phone. She started rolling around in her floor like a 2-year old throwing a tantrum.

Honey, in pajamas, ran off to the house whose owner will be paying for her.

AND COPS WERE INVOLVED

A couple of hours later, a police mobile entered our village and stopped at the house. Moments later, Honey was seen riding at the back of the car. Knowing that her lying knows no bounds, my mother and father immediately followed.

We knew there was something fishy. If she had an issue with us, why not come to our house with the police? Why go on her own to the stain? Surely, she'd fabricate a story there. And we were right! At the police station, she filed a complaint against my mom, saying that she was physically maltreated. What?! So typical of Honey to make a scandal! And what did she do while they were there? My mother was civilly sitting down, explaining what happened to the officer, and she was standing up in hysterics. After seeing that it was my mother who was telling the truth, Honey was "scolded" by the officer and was told to sit down and act properly. Oh, and the epal "cousin" was there, too. Imagine discovering that the maid next door was your yaya's cousin all along? I have to give Honey props for imagination!

CAUGHT RED-HANDED

But it doesn't end there. Around 30 minutes after my parents came home, accompanied by our village president, Honey came back to get her stuff. And her face - the most accurate description is in Bisaya - was hilas. She was smug. Why? Because she had a backer. Now despite the fact that we already placed her things outside because we don't want her coming into the house anymore, she was adamant to go upstairs to her room. Because we no longer trust her at all, I went with her.

I thought we already got all of her belongings out. To my surprise, she lifted the mattress off the bed, and voila, there are books and magazines hidden inside! I pointed to them and told her, "Hoy akin yan!" And do you know what she did? She actually glared at me. Pinandilatan ako. And she told me this:

"Te pati ba naman kana?! Libro lang na!"

[Ate pati ba naman yan?! Libro lang yan!] [Why are you overreacting? Those are just books!]

I exploded. That's not the point! Even if that's just a piece of paper, the fact that it's not yours, you should ask for permission before you "borrow" it! She said they were just lying around, which was not true at all! And if she was just innocently borrowing the books and magazines, why on earth are they under her bed's mattress?! If I didn't go with her, would she just leave them there or take them with her? And just when I thought I could not get even madder, she threw another one-liner in the most insulting tone:

"Te ang importante dili nako ni dad-on!"

[Ate ang importante hindi ko to kukunin!] [Don't worry; I won't take these with me!]

Wow!!! Thank you!!! Thank you so much for not taking them with you! Yaya of the year award goes to you!

After that, she went downstairs and sifted through her stuff which we packed but didn't inspect.

TRIVIA: We have never inspected her bags, not even once, since she got here because we want her to gain self-respect. Don't follow our example!

Anyway, she sifted through her stuff and, surprise, out came our missing things like a hairbrush, a charger, a clearbook, measuring tape (which I've been looking for since last year), a CD, and worst, a pair of spoon and fork from our personal set! No wonder she wasn't using her own spoon and fork!

I don't want to think of all the things she could have brought home with her during all those times she left. When my mother brought up the fact that we never inspected her bags because we wanted her to think we trust her, here's her response:

"Ay inyuha man nang kagustuhan na dili manginspeksyon!"

[Ay kagustuhan nyo lang din naman na di mag-inspeksyon!] [It was your choice to not inspect my things!]

I felt so mad I wanted to crush every zit on her face. (Papa: Wag, marumi.) I can handle her talking back to me, but my mother? The same woman who served as her foster mother for almost 3 years? This person was unbelievable. Ingrata.

And then she left. And would you believe that come afternoon, there were already rumors about us? The gossip mill never rests, I guess.

Fortunately, our village president, who is also a good family friend, was there and saw everything from start to finish. He saw our stuff that were hidden among her things and heard the way she talked back to us. He even said, "What you're doing is unacceptable." Whatever false rumors that woman will spread, at least someone knows the truth.

WHAT NOW?

Now I'm here, working while taking care of a 2-year old, and even if it's tiring, I'm happy! I truly am! I feel so liberated about our setup now, and even though it's harder to work, there's so much I don't need to get stressed over anymore. What a great change!

I won't be ashamed to admit that I have taken to having my phone and the TV babysit Yuri because I got to do what I got to do. But I am now more hands-on, and I am still determined to homeschool Yuri next year, and with the amount I can save from not paying a mindless and heartless person, I might even enroll him into classes. Exciting times are ahead.

Of course, it's going to be very challenging. I know I've been a bad example, and I know what a good Christian must have done, but it's really do hard to keep my cool about this. I'm sure God will place forgiveness in my heart, that I don't doubt, but I want to publish this post to tell you to not be like us and to show you what can happen even if you treat your househelp like family.

This concludes what should be my last Yaya Woes post. Good riddance.

PS: Yes, she's paid until the end of October.