When we first moved here, we hired a few helpers in the hopes that they would, well, help with the transitions.  Our driver, gardener, and maid have all proven to be just what we needed – and then some!  We were incredibly lucky that all three just fell into our laps as they did and are very thankful.  We had tried a cook as well and were really disappointed when she didn’t work out.  I had been especially excited to work with her, but the brief experience left us firmly convinced that having me cook for the family was the perfect choice for us.

Fast forward to this past weekend when, over dinner, some friends asked if we wanted to hire their cook on while they were away in Thailand for the week.  Two factors made me say yes without hesitating; the fact that they have spoken highly of her on more than one occasion, and that the lils are off school this week.  Not preparing meals in the afternoon gives me an hour or three where I can hang out with them.  As much as I love to cook, I prefer to hang with them.

Over the weekend, but without actually meeting up with their cook, we worked out a tentative start for Tuesday.  We planned meals accordingly, and talked it up to the lils.  They were a little gun shy, but progressed from outright resistance to excitement when we explained that they would be able to talk to her and let her know what they liked and didn’t.  Woo made a special request for Palak paneer, and I made sure I’d have the fixings for it for our first meal. He, in particular, was over the moon.

The past twenty-four hours have been pretty much a train wreck for me.  I was up until about three AM for no apparent reason, then awakened twice by each lil in the next two hours.  I woke up cranky and tired, Willy let me sleep until the last possible second, but that was only a little after seven.  The lils were cranky and tired, I was cranky and tired, and we needed to go to the grocery store.  I’d promised paneer for supper, and that was a time consuming promise, on what was likely to be a tough  day. It was a recipe for disaster.  As we were running out the door, I made a quick call to our cook to confirm a start time, and she let me know that she wanted to start today, as her plans had been cancelled.

In an instant, our moods all lightened.  The trip to the grocery was a breeze, we laughed and fooled around, there were no demands on our time other than lunch.  When our cook arrived, the lils were SO excited.  They hugged her on first meeting her, and insisted on showing her the house before letting her even see the kitchen.  Once they settled down a bit, they were allowed to join and “help” in the kitchen before we took off for a leisurely swim.  We arrived home AT dinner time and sat down to an excellent meal, that had just a hint of spice, but was completely tolerable for the lils (they get killed by chillies here).  I didn’t think that we wanted a cook, but one day in to this fun diversion, I am reconsidering…