maid returning

my maid came to visit me for the last time today.

she will be returning to myanmar for good next sunday. i hired her to look after my mum and she joined the family on 19 dec 2013. she went through 2 hellish year with me looking after mum. and i renewed her contract just a month before it expired. mum passed away two weeks after her contract renewal was approved. following mum's passing, she went on to work for my brother. i continued paying her her salary all these while. it had been more than a year since. i recalled the long period i took to convince mum to get a maid. and i remembered vividly the first day when i went to pick her up form the agency. we brought her out to bedok market for her first meal - chicken rice. haha... on her second day with us, we met with an accident when i drove mum to parkway... all these memories are still fresh in my mind. we laughed when we talked about it earlier.

she departs this sunday morning. and i gave her my large luggage bag to pack her things. today is her payday and she had withdrawn the monies from the bank. managed to close her bank account this afternoon. thankfully, i remembered to give her her one additional week of salary given her additional work week (her last day will be this saturday). she had earlier refused this week's pay as she said she felt bad taking my monies all these while while working for my brother. told her it wasn't for her to worry. i had all along taken it as a contribution to my niece and nephew's upbringing. anyway, before she left, she walked over to the urn containing sapphie's ashes and bade it farewell. it was a little funny (and touching too) when she said "sapphie, bye bye". her eyes welled up with tears as she did so.

i drove her to the train station, and i gave her a $200 ang pow. all things being equal, she did a very good job looking after mum. and for that, i will always be grateful to her. i reminded her to let go of all misforgivings that she might have and to always look forward and be happy. i wish her well. her departure brings to a close another chapter of my life.