Another mistake...

I made a mistake.

I made a mistake that I think I should have known better than to make.  Sometimes, I can give myself a pass, thinking about the things I haven't learned or learned wrongly that I am trying to learn now.  Sometimes, I can by thinking about all the things in my life swirling around my head right now.  Even so, I made a mistake.

I really, really, really like one of the maids who comes to clean.  She is soothing to me, even though I am having strangers in my house.  Because of that, we chat.  We chat and I talk to her as if she is a friend ... or at least a work friend.  But she is not.

There has been some changes in the other women who come, and lately, that has been her best friend.  But that woman is not a good fit.  Things get missed.  I've been asked to check things over as each floor is finished.  I do.  And her friend doesn't not respond well to pointing out what still needs to be done.  This past clean, she had a small meltdown and her actions and words had me wanting to leave my own home.

I was up thinking about what happened two nights in a row before deciding to speak to the manager who manages my service.  She was kind and gracious and understanding.  She told me that there are some women who just don't fit and gave me an example of a much beloved maid who's also had clients who've asked she not return.  She said she would handle things for me, because I was worried about having the women I like coming learn her best friend isn't going to be coming back.

The mistake?  The maid and I connected on Facebook.

Yesterday, I saw her anger online.
I knew.
And then I saw her unfriend me.

It was a mistake to have made the Facebook connection because mine is a personal account, not one that is at least a mixture of personal and professional.  And this isn't a personal connection.  It is a professional one.

I made a mistake.

I made a mistake in treating her as if she were a friend.  I made a mistake in connecting with her on Facebook.  I made a mistake in not addressing the concern with her best friend the first time it came up in the house.  I was so worried about hurting this woman's feelings that I allowed for something to ... well, to worsen rather than nip it in the bud.  It was clear her friend did not want to be cleaning my house.  Her comments.  Her reactions.  All that she regularly missed.

It is my most fervent hope that this wonderful woman who has been on my team since the beginning  will still come to clean next month, but I have no real expectation that that might happen.  So, I have four weeks to rehearse having a whole new team to get used to coming to clean.  And to think about not using the time they are here as time to ... I don't know ... practice, maybe ... practice visiting.  They are not company.  They are there to work.

Excuse me whilst I go and kick myself in the backside a few more times.
SIGH.