Joy & Elsie

Joy and Elsie entered our lives a week after I gave birth to the twins in 2013.

They were my mother’s students when she taught catechism at a public elementary school in Leyte. I needed at least two ladies to help me take care of the twins as I recovered from a cesarean operation — and then help me manage my growing family as I get back to work two months after I gave birth. Mom found Joy and Elsie, both 18 years old, jobless, and were interested to work for our family.

They were shy.

They would hardly eat unless told to do so.

As members of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, they do not eat pork and certain seafood. That taught us to be more sensitive with our food choices and encouraged us to eat more chicken and fish.

Joy and Elsie did not have prior experience in taking care of babies but they learned fast and adapted quickly to the routine. I learned how to change diapers and bathe babies with them. We spent sleepless nights together especially during the first three months when I had to drag my lazy self out of bed because I was insistent on exclusively breastfeeding the twins.

When it was time to go back to work, Joy and Elsie kept my babies full and dry.

When the twins were born, I was still working for a nonprofit organization in Cebu while Jeff was based in China. While we were both away, Joy and Elsie made sure our children were safe.

On March 2014, after all our documents were finalized, the twins and I left for China with Jeff. The goodbye scene at the airport tore me to pieces. The twins were about nine months old then. Joy carried Nicholas to a corner and she cried. Elsie, my Mom later reported, went straight to the room from the airport and cried.

Three years after living in China and the US, as Jeff and I contemplated about spending some time in the Philippines, I happened to chance upon Elsie’s Facebook account. I told her about our plan to go to the Philippines and if she and Joy are free to work for us…again.

A week after she told me they can.

We arrived in the Philippines last month on a Saturday. Three days after, they were in a fast craft from Ormoc to Cebu. At 8 p.m. on a Tuesday, they were in our home. Nicholas and Antoinette immediately hugged Joy and Elsie. My Mom said the twins may still remember the smell and the voices. I squealed when I saw them. I got out of the master’s bedroom and rushed to embrace them.

I was beyond happy.

In our home, we do not introduce Joy and Elsie as “yayas.”

They are our children’s Ates (older sisters).

They do not wear uniforms. They eat what we eat (except for those forbidden by their religion, of course). Currently, I am working on their papers for their benefits (SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG) because we are conscious in our house about following the law. They also asked for my help to open bank accounts so they don’t have to held on to their cash every payday.

Jeff and I cook for them. We exchange stories every night. Together, we plan the twins’ activities, the food they eat, the shows they watch.

The truth is: finding people whom you can trust to entrust your children to is not easy. From my previous experience with my nephew, we encountered thieves, partygoers, opportunists, abusers, liars. So when you find people who are loyal, hardworking and trustworthy, treat them well.

Pay their salaries on time.

Treat them as your equals.

Take care of them not just because they care of your children but because they are people, human beings made by our Heavenly Father who are worthy to be taken care of.

Love them.

I love Joy and Elsie.

I know that our situation does not apply to all families. Not many people are blessed to have a Joy and an Elsie. That is why, I am not taking them for granted.

The same principle holds true in other aspects of our lives: relationships, business dealings, partnerships. If you found the proverbial “The One,” treasure it, nurture it, take care of it.
Keep them healthy… and happy.