My Unseen Maid

Nothing out of the ordinary has ever happened to me until very recently. I have always had a fascination with the paranormal though and am a firm believer that there are things out there that we can't always explain.

My husband and I were married about 2 years ago and moved into a very nice ranch style home that is about 35-40 years old in a quiet neighborhood. It is obvious that great care was taken in building the home, as it is unbelievably solid for its age and the interior trim and woodwork in the house is very stylish. Now, I am a working wife and mother to 2 small children so, as you can imagine, housework is a "get it done as I can" project. My worst enemies are laundry and papers (junk mail, advertisements, etc.). These things I just cannot seem to get under control and are everywhere. You can eat off of my floors, but finding an outfit to wear is a next to impossible task. Forget finding last months phone bill or that recent Visa offer.

So anyway, nothing had happened until about 2 months ago. I was under a great deal of stress and I was trying to get the kids and us ready for school and work. Nothing was going right and we all left late, leaving the house a total wreck. After work, I picked up the kids at the sitters and went into the house thinking about what to make for dinner. As I came through the back door, I was shocked to find all of the dishes cleared off of the table, the toaster put away and the crumbs wiped off of the counter, and the dishes from the sink put in the dishwasher. I was ecstatic, thinking that my husband had come home for lunch and helped me out. We put our things down and I went back to our bedroom to change clothes. It was then that it struck me that everything was picked up! All of the clothes that had been left on the beds were either hung or in the dirty clothes, the towels which had been on the floor were on the rack, all of the beds were made, and the jumble of jewelry that had been on our dresser was neatly put into my jewelry box. It amazed me that he had gotten so much done. (It would have been an all day task for me).

When my husband came home, he remarked how great the house looked and asked if I had come home early. I told him "thanks, but I know you did this and I thank you for it". He shook his head in bewilderment and told me that he had been out of town on service all day. At that point I thought maybe my mother had come up and done it as she recently retired and is always looking for things to do. I call her and asked general "how are you" questions. She said she had been to flea markets all day with my sister. My sister did later confirm that.

I let it go, but it totally confused me. A few days later, I had done some towels and set them on the sofa in the family room to fold. Naturally, I wound up doing something else and forgot. I later went back into the room to get them and they were all neatly folded. I knew the kids hadn't done them as they're only 4 and 6. The kicker was that we were the only ones home! That totally creeped me out. When I told my husband, he told me I probably forgot that I did it. Yeah right. Now it seems to be common occurrence that we will come home or wake up to find the house straightened or the dishes and laundry done. Since these things sometime occur in the middle of the night, that has ruled out a relative or friend coming into our home during the day. My husband has left his blanket on the couch in the morning only to get out of the shower and find it neatly folded on our bed, long after I have left for work.

My husband and I have never seen our "friend" although my daughter one time asked me why I was hanging clothing in closet in the middle of the night without the light on. She didn't seem afraid. Sometimes you do get the feeling you are being observed. The house doesn't even feel "invaded" after one of these events, as it would if you had been broken into.

We have no idea as to the identity of our little maid, but I very much appreciate the help. I hope that they realize how much. I sometime think I would like to see her or him, but maybe some things are best left alone.