"Oh god, it was horrible. When I got my first maid’s job at 20 I was dispatched to clean this woman’s in her early 50’s house. She had a beautiful house with even more beautiful decor.

She showed me around her upstairs and had some dope diorama she made by hand. She was a piano teacher and had a baby grand. She told me she went to France often and most of the decor in her house was from France. She pointed out a specific freestanding shelf, filled to the brim with glass art, a tea set, and this really interesting clear fish glass art piece that had some gold metal work on it. It was big and had some heft to it. She told me 4 other maids had broken something on this shelf and be VERY careful when cleaning it.

After she gave me a tour she left to go by the grocery store, telling me her boyfriend would be back shortly. They were in the process of breaking up and he would probably be coming in and out.

So, she’s gone and I’m going room but room cleaning. Starting top to bottom, which begins with dusting. I get to this prized shelf. It was a bamboo frame with glass shelves that could be removed. I am touching it with the utmost care, so I thought, using the lightest touch I thought possible. Suddenly this thing wobbles and before I knew it two shelves fly off and come absolutely crashing to the ground.

If I could have dissolved into the floor I would have at that moment. It was just a concrete floor and glass shards as far as the eye could see. All these curated possessions shattered into a million pieces.

I had no clue what to do. Before I knew it she’s walking in the door. I tell her what happened and how I can’t begin to say how sorry I am. I’m crying, she’s crying, saying “all I could do was tell you, all I could do was tell you to be careful”.

I finished cleaning her place, and I also wrote her a long note saying how sorry I was, how I could tell she had a beautiful home that represented all of her passions and personality so wonderfully, and how I felt so horribly for adding to her stress.

It was actually so sweet. Her boyfriend told her I had something for her, and I gave her the letter. She gave me a big hug.

I felt so bad about those items I broke, and on top of that this perfectly nice, and really cool woman who had so much on her plate couldn’t have been nicer about it. Of course she was sad and so shocked, but really it could have been so much worse.

Still can’t believe I broke all that s@#t."

PatienceMeadow