Spinning Too Many Plates: My Journey From Servanthood to Self-Sufficiency
At times, being a servant can be so draining. I remember when I desperately needed income to sustain my fruit-selling business. To gather the capital, I had to work as a house help for a church member. The plan was to use the money I earned to start something of my own.
She had three kids. Her husband worked with a road construction company, and she was a secondary school teacher. I was told my duties would be simple - clean the house, wash, and assist the kids with their homework. That sounded manageable. The pay was ₦20,000, which felt fair at the time, especially with a promise of an increase if I did well. I didn't hesitate. I jumped in, confident that I could do the job and earn even more.
For the first two months, it was just as they said. But by the third, everything changed.
My responsibilities grew, I had to do the dishes, mop, cook most days, go to the market, clean up her husband’s work tools, and wash three cars: hers, his work car, and his personal car. Then she gave birth, and that’s when things became overwhelming.
I was required to weed the compound every morning, scrub algae from the cement floor with a hard brush to keep the surroundings neat for visitors coming to see the baby. Yet, all the initial duties - cleaning, washing, homework help, remained.
My pay was increased, yes. But the workload was just too much. Her kids didn’t help either. They often added to my stress. I had so much on my mind that I began to forget little things like turning off the water pump, switching off the freezer, passing along messages on time. These slip-ups drove my boss crazy. She nagged constantly. I tried to explain, but she never really understood. She didn’t see that I was spinning too many plates. I wasn’t lazy or careless, I was simply overwhelmed. None of my mistakes were deliberate.
When I finally gathered the money I needed to start my fruit business, I left just as quickly as I had joined. No second thoughts. No hesitation. And just then, i learnt that sometimes survival demands sacrifice. But once you’ve earned your freedom, you don’t need permission to claim it.
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