MAID to order

Alright...so things in Amber heaven haven't been so great today. After a long nice vacation in Bali David is off back to work in the desert. Parker is still screaming and crying "get daddy back!" and our house/maid/helper/whatever is politically correct to call her - decided to give me some bullarky (is that even a word?) story of why she needs to leave on May 1st.

We told her awhile back that we would be moving in June to Doha. She asked us to help her find employment with a Christian family. No Omani's or Indians. She is Indian herself - so I don't get that last part except to say that I have met some upper-class indians who are straight up slave drivers. So, I agreed but with a sound warning that I would probably not be able to find someone willing to pay her like we do but that I would try my best. Now our...whatever you want to call her...we will call her a helper from here on out...our helper has taken a lot of last minute days off for reasons I just don't believe. She gets every American, british, omani holiday as well as when we take our extensive 12 day holidays...we have gone on three so far. That is a LOT of time off for her - all of which she gets paid. She doesn't have to be here - she can go do her own thing. The agreement was that she work through until the end of our time here and then we would consider paying for her to go home to her children. About a month ago she tried to convince me that my kids school was out in May. I said -- uh, no. It is out in June. She agreed to stay until then. Today she said that they just found out that one of her daughters had to transfer schools on May 1st and that the parents were required to be there. She said the spots were very limited. She said that it was 1000 omani rial for her daughter to attend and that they needed to find out about a payment plan. I asked her what school this was, but she wouldn't tell me. I asked her if she couldn't just call or e-mail them and she said no, that they had to do it in person. I asked her how old her daughter was, she said 17. I asked her what she was going to school for, she said electrical engineering. Now...I'm still trying to figure out why they need to be there or the daughter won't get in...most schools are happy to take money. I'm still confused about why they can't find out about a payment plan over the phone or through e-mail. And I'm super confused about why exactly she needs to be gone for 30-35 days to take care of all of this. Any answers? Because I ain't gottem. I offered to help her by contacting the school and asking appropriate questions and she said no...that both parents had to be present. Ever heard of this with Indian schools? This is weird stuff. Actually, I know it is a full blown lie. She just wants a vacation and is hoping that I will pay for it if I feel sorry enough for her. I can't though. I cannot bring myself to pay for her plane ticket home if she isn't willing to stick it out with us through the end. She started in September...she hasn't even been with us for a year and she is bailing. I bet you all think I must be some horrible monster for her to be trying to get away from, but I assure you I'm not. I am fair and kind. But I'm not stupid.

This topic was explored extensively on Undercover Dragon's blog, Muscat Confidential. This is a link to the discussion and my replies and pay comparisons.

http://muscatconfidential.blogspot.com/2009/03/maids-in-oman-whats-deal.html#comments

I don't know what she expects. I asked her if she would be returning and she said yes, that she needed to be able to work. But frankly she will only be back for 10 days. Meanwhile, I need super help right now. It is the end of the schoolyear and I need to be devoting my time, as I promised, to getting ready to move, preparing my children to end the year as well as gear them up to move again and start all over. I have to do all of this husbandless and I need the help. What I don't need is to start the disastrous maid search again. Hate that. I could just scream right now I am so angry!!!

Am I wrong to not want to pay her plane ticket back to India? I never promised it - I told her maybe. She has only been here 8 months (almost) and her story just doesn't ring true. I think when she was trying to convince me in May that the children's school was out that her husband had already asked for that time off and she wanted to go with him. But now she is lying to me. I just feel it. I hate lying. Despise it. I know what you are thinking...but you are an actress! Well, to be honest acting has nothing to do with lying and everything to do with truth - but that is another topic (much longer) for another day.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Solutions? What should I do? Boohooo!