There are many different aspects involved in being a house-sitter, including sitting in the house that you are supposed to be house-sitting (though I'm sure you'd guessed that much). In the absence of the owners (AKA the parents), the house-sitter (AKA me), is expected to look after the house as if it were their own and- most importantly, ensure that there are no burglaries, trespassers or anything as equally undesirable.
Now, between us, this is where the issues start to arise. If I am looking after a house as if it's my own, then there's no way that I'm going to be maintaining it to the standard that the owner expects. Yes, it'll still be tidy... just not everyday. Likewise, I don't necessarily welcome any burglar's or robber's. But I have to say, it is unclear if this selection of unwanted visitors includes animals.
For instance- 30 seconds ago a HUGE spider just walked through our lounge. I didn't invite it into the house, so does that make this spider a trespassing-burglar? They're on my property (well, the parents') without my consent, potentially stealing fluff from the carpet (albeit unwanted) to make a nice cosy bed for itself. These grey area's are just not made clear in the official house-sitter's manual. Not clear at all.
Anyway, to ensure that I write with accuracy, I am sat with the house-sitter's manual in front of me.
- Did I answer the telephone and take any relevant messages? Yes I did. However, the only person who actually phoned the house was Dave, so I have to confess, I took precisely zero messages. Did I therefore fail in my secretarial duties?
- Did I feed and water the animals of the household and the plants? Erm... yes and no. Fed and watered pet... but forgot to do the same for the plants. I'm ashamed to say that they have seen better days... sorry parents.
- Did I inspect the utilities such as the plumbing and air conditioning? Nope. When have I ever done that before? Never. Besides, we don't even have any air conditioning... unless it's invisible. But as far as I was aware, the water was running out of the taps crystal clear, so we didn't have a problem.
There's a load of other jobs and chores, but they're all a bit boring.
Hold on, I'm just going to consult the manual- check I've covered the main points.
*
What?! Can you believe it? Apparently, I'm supposed to be checking the swimming pool! Where is said swimming device Mum, Dad? If it's in the manual, it's got to be true. I mean, honestly, talk about being short-changed! I'll have to have a chat with the parents when they return...
Actually, on second thoughts... maybe I won't mention it after all. Mum would only turn around to me and point out the obvious: the pool- in February would be unswimmable, freezing and probably full of leaves. More to the point, it would just be a nuisance to look after.
So you know what I'm going to do now? I'm throwing the manual away. My days as a professional house sitter are over. I'm just going to go back and finish my stint as chief-house-looker-after-er as a professional daughter instead.
Mx
The information relating to house sitting came from this website if you wanted further details as it is actually, a real job: http://dot-job-descriptions.careerplanner.com/HOUSE-SITTER.cfm.
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