Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Mixing Pleasure with Business

This afternoon I received a call from one of the other Gan mothers who had given birth last week, C-section.  She asked if I could come over and give her a Chiropractic treatment, as the birth and the surgery had left her whole body tight and painful.

After picking up Raphaela from Gan, we drove over to their apartment and while the two girls played, I went to work. The visit ended up lasting several hours, we sat together and had dinner together and enjoyed each other's company.  Once they felt comfortable enough to ask, this couple broached the subject of my aliyah and my single parenthood;  it was nice to be able to discuss my choice with other parents of a child the same age, and not feel any judgement, only acceptance.

At a certain point, both girls started acting out due to fatigue, and as I bundled up Raphaela for the ride home, the mother asked me how much she owed me for the treatment.  Truth is, I had given this dilemna much thought today, I did not want to ruin a potentially wonderful and deep friendship over money, and yet, I do deserve to get paid for my house call and for my expertise.

I replied that I would accept a "symbolic" amount, because I try not to mix pleasure with business, and we both felt satisfied by the quick and painless (I apologize for the pun, LOL) resolution.

1 comment:

koshergourmetmart said...

next time, a mom from gan asks you to do a chiro treatment, let them know the price up front so you do not have awkwardness later. also, ask if you can bring RR with you so boundaries are set ahead of time. This way you can mix business w/pleasure and not feel awkward about it later. Since it sounds like she treated you to dinner, that a symbolic amt was correct in this situation.