Today started out like any other day. It was dark outside and as I sipped on my first cup of green tea, it looked like it was going to be good day.
A friend/helper was coming by and we were going to have lunch, it was my treat. Why? Never mind. I was looking forward to the conversation and chatting about nothing in particular. This person has been helping me ever since I had my surgeries, the first and the second one, and has helped out with lugging the heavy stuff since I still have to be careful about lifting things. We are on friendly terms and we also like each other’s company.
However, I NEVER LEARN! My mom befriended her maid, an immigrant woman from another land and lost her life because of it. I went through a period of not trusting anyone after that but life moves on as they say. Anyway, on my last trip out with this woman, not the killer, but the one who is helping me I noticed that her cellphone was cracked. I asked if it still works and she said yes. Instead of keeping my mouth shut, I stepped in with, “I have a brand new cellphone, got it for my son but he decided to get his own.”
Her eyes lit up. She wanted to look at it and when she saw it, she asked, “Do you want to sell it?” The cost of the cellphone was around 300 euros, I told her she could have it for 100 euros. More than fair price. The problem, she immediately took it and said, “I’ll pay when I get my money at the end of the month.” I knew it was a bad idea but let it go and she left with the cellphone. Three weeks have gone by, the beginning of the month has come and gone and she hasn’t paid yet. She sent a text message with the excuse, “My son is sick, I’ll come by tomorrow!”
It didn’t set well with me because I stand by my word and as a friend pointed out to me yesterday, “Not everyone is like you.” Maybe, but this was starting to irritate me. I got brave, shoved the “niceness” somewhere far away from me and said, “Can you bring the money tomorrow?” This started a barrage of text messages, all excuses, something about not having got paid yet and that the phone was still in the box but she forgot that she had told me something different a week ago. Data was being transferred and the phone was with her friend.
“Okay, please bring the phone back here tomorrow and when you have the money, you can come pick it up.”
Will I get it back? What do you think?
I had a similar experience last year. A woman showed up here looking for work. She looked nice enough and was all smiles. Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing! This one was a perfect example. Three weeks into working here, the sorry stories started showing up. She didn’t have money for food, her dogs (two of them) needed food and medical treatment, and she just needed money for one thing or another. I was her cash cow. Long story short, she cornered me in the kitchen one day, refused to leave and when she finally left, she started terror text messaging through the night because she wasn’t getting any more money out of me! I blocked her, the first time I ever did that.
I haven’t learned my lesson yet. Here is another one taking me down the same road. The lady with the dogs never paid me back and I have written it off as a loss and I’m also glad that I didn’t wind up like my mom!
Be very careful of who you let into your place and of the company you keep. The ones who seem exceptionally nice are the ones you have to watch out for! There’s a proverb that goes like this, “If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.”
I need to take that to heart and remember it the next time around. Knowing me, I know there will be a next time, and a next time, and a next time!
I need to clear my head so I have my shoes on and I’m going to head out to the fields and let nature do what it does best, calm my spirit and add peace to a frazzled mind!
Oh, one more thing, I feel much better after getting things off my chest as well!
Have an amazing day.
