I heard about Ruth from my sister. And boy was fate on my side!
Ruth recently escaped from Colorado City, a hard-core polygamist community. She left in the night secretly. And now she is living in the real world. Near me :) I love Ruth! Let me tell you why.
Ruth was raised in a family with one Dad, a few mothers, and lots and lots of kids. A few times recently I've had her come over to babysit for me because I actually thought she would be someone I could trust. She has a tremendous amount of experience with kids and she is also an EMT. She is so motherly and great with my babies, even rocking and singing to them for long stretches of time. She was the one in her family in charge of tending the many children.
My sweet husband, bless his soul told me last weekend that I can hire Ruth to come help me out with the housework each week. I feel a little embarrassed saying this because I am so super spoiled...but he said she could come for 10 hours a week! I about hyperventilated from the joy. These last 6 months have been extremely physically demanding on me. Keeping up with my house, kids, cooking, cleaning and laundry is more than a full time job. It's harder than my marathon training was a few years ago. Trust me on this one.
Ruth agreed to come three days a week for a few hours each time. Oh help me, I feel so overjoyed about this! She's come twice so far. And what's great about her is that I feel only about 1% self-conscious. If anyone else were to come help me clean or do laundry at my house, I would feel 100% self-conscious. I'd probably clean it before they'd come to help me clean. Ruth doesn't make me feel that way at all. Why? Because she has seen it all. When I told her about the mountain of laundry I was buried in and how I wanted her to help me finish it, she responded with "Oh do I know allllll about laundry! In my family we had tons of laundry we couldn't keep up with!" I was feeling completely understood and validated. Happy feeling for sure.
When I asked her if she could clean my kid's bathroom, she was like "no prob!" Any normal person would gag on the vomit involuntarily coming up their throat at the thought. She has a strong stomach. Like I said, she's seen it all.
I've had the pleasure to get to know a lot about Ruth. She loves to talk about her former life. Incessantly. Do you know she absolutely loves children, horses, and dogs? "Heavenly Father gave [her] a special love for them." And she tells me all about her first hand experiences in her old polygamist community, her experience with Warren Jeffs, the religion, the people, the culture, etc. It's way more fascinating than watching "Sister Wives" or a train wreck. Aren't you jealous?
Another fun thing about her is watching her experiment with her new found freedom. For instance, drinking iced tea, missing church, and wearing real clothes. She only came here with one outfit. Previously she wore only those thick, to the ground, long puffy sleeves, high neck dresses. But you should see what she wears now! She's comfortable in stuff I wouldn't want my kids to see me in. Plunging necklines, pants with a mini-skirt over it, etc... This girl is just fun to watch, listen to, and be around. You may actually get to know her yourself because she was interviewed to be on a reality TV show for MTV that will follow girls who are exactly in her same position.
And that is why every mom needs a housekeeper like Ruth. She's mine though, so go find your own former polygamist.
