Domestic Labor

Up until I was eight years old, my family had a nanny/housekeeper who worked for us full time, 9:00am - 5:00pm, but did not live with us.  But even though she did not live with us, she was part of our family.  My family brought her with us on trips and when she had important events in her life, she always invited us and we always attended.  When she no longer worked for us, she still sent me and my brother birthday gifts every year, and we always sent her gifts for her birthday and for the holidays.  We were all incredibly close and my parents loved her, and I know she loved us too.  My family had a great relationship with our nanny/housekeeper, and everyone else in my family who has employed domestic labor have also had great relationships with their nannies/housekeepers.  Although I know that some families and the people working for them are not as close or as friendly as my family was with our nanny, I have not personally experienced or witnessed a less-than-wonderful relationship between employer and employee (the domestic labor).