You never know where you will find role models in your life.
Several years ago we hired an Indian woman named Virginia to clean our house one day a week. I quickly found out that you don't just hire Virginia, but rather that she quickly becomes a part of your family's life. Yes, she cleaned my home, but she didn't really think of it as a job; rather it was her gift to us. Just as some days she would announce that she was going to make us Indian food. Other days we would get a phone call and Virginia would let me know that she needed to go somewhere and ask to be taken to where ever the destination was - we lived in the country and there was no public transportation, and of course she didn't have a car.
Over the course of time I got to know this amazing woman well. She had five daughters in India and of course, according to Indian tradition each one had to have a dowery. She worked hard cleaning and babysitting to send money home to India. She was very proud of the fact that she had been able to earn enough for doweries for all five daughters and they were finally all married. Even though by our standards she was very poor, from her point of view this was an amazing amount of money to have earned.
The story that best illustrates Virginia's character was from her early adulthood in India. Virginia loves flowers, but lived in an area on the coast with very poor soil that would not grow her beloved flowers. At the time she was working for a family who lived an hour inland by bus. Everyday Virginia would bring a shopping bag of dirt home with her on the bus. Eventually, after two years of one grocery bag of earth at a time, Virginia had a yard that was a riot of color and filled with flowers.
Every time I am faced with a task that seems overwhelming, I think of Virginia, carrying those bags of dirt home on the bus until she had built her garden one step at a time. In these tough ecconomic times it is good to have an example of how we can achieve great things with no money, perseverance and a little ingenuity.
Pam Dent
Real Estate III
Charlottesville, Virginia
434 960-0161
Charlottesville Homes
