Sneaking Away For Dim Sum

 I am so amazingly blessed in life that one of my annoyances is being home when our longtime housekeeper comes over. Miriam is 70 and ought to have retired long ago -- her family has business owners and CPAs, and she really no longer needs the money, but Miriam keeps on keeping on.

We paid her weekly during Covid, even though I wasn't the US government payroll assistance plan, but since she's resumed her visits, I would typically find somewhere to go when she's here, usually Wednesdays, to stay out of her way.

Alas, she also cleans Lili and Jeff's house -- in fact -- we met her through Lili, as Miriam was her family's housekeeper since the 80s -- and Lili asked for a Wednesday instead of Thursday this week, since they were leaving for their townhouse in New Haven, and so Miriam came today.

She arrived late -- typically she comes around 11 -- today 1230, and we had already hosted a cabinet maker to install a vanity in the powder room. So I knew I needed  a break, and decided I would treat myself -- dim sum at Kon Chau.

Kon Chau is our go-to dim sum place. They last decorated in the early 90s, but in my opinion, the dumplings are superior to the more expensive and better known Tropical Chinese -- blocks to the East on Bird Road.

Off I drove in the man sized SUV, and got my table in the corner, and had a great won ton soup, and a few plates of those great dumplings. Wifey didn't even know I left -- she was on a marathon phone call -- and she doesn't care much for dim sum, so I figured there would be no to go order.

Well, she called to check on my whereabouts, and I told her I was at Kon Chau, and she doesn't like it, right? Well, the chances of Wifey NOT wanting food or coffee brought to her approach absolute zero -- so she asked for something NOT dim sum. I got her some chicken and broccoli. She has explained to me that having coffee and food brought to her is her "language of love." So I really brought her love and broccoli, I guess.

So I put away the food, and decamped to our "bonus room" where Miriam rarely visits. I got a short but great nap, to some old "Law and Order" re-runs. and then awoke to watch a few. 

And I learned a new Spanish word: polvo. When I came downstairs, Miriam told me the house had "mucho polvo" -- polvo meaning "dust." Indeed, it did, from the tile cutting and drywall cutting that has taken place over the past 3 weeks for the 2 bathroom renovations that approach completion.

It makes sense -- pulverize is to turn something to dust. Ah, language.

Anyway, it approaches 6 pm, and Miriam is still here. Anytime we think about maybe asking her to come earlier so her cleaning doesn't leach into dinner hour, Jeff reminds me: we kind of more work for her than the other way around. She tells us when she comes and when she goes. 

Hey -- she's worked for us for nearly 30 years now -- probably best to leave sleeping dogs lie.

Our friend who is leading the renovation project thinks it's absurd that a 70 year old still does this work. She would let her go, she tells me. Nah. I'll just keep finding ways to bolt, weekly.

And again -- these should be my biggest problems.

One final note -- about how Miami is indeed the biggest city/small town there is. This am I told my trainer the tale of the classmate in the adult ed course -- the woman who told us about the cancer missed diagnosis. Well -- turns out she's his father's ex fiancee! They were to marry, but something happened in the late 80s, and his dad, the retired doc, went another way.

Man -- I never get past one degree of separation in the is town of ours.

I'm sure I'll find out later a friend was also at Kon Chau today. My dumplings were excellent.