Maid to Mop
By Rasha Aly

Arleen Johnston, 46, did what most others would not do to make her start-up business, Maid to Mop, a success. She gave up a job at Nationwide Insurance to do file her claims. She donated plasma two to three times a week to pay for the advertisements of her company. Little did she know the company she started in 1992 with only one employee, herself, would grow to a company of 10 employees.

“I’m a very lucky girl. I know that,” Arleen said. But she’s lucky for more than just her business. Arleen has faced a number of hardships in her life – hardships which have made her stronger.
One December night, in 1990, Arleen was alone at home when two intruders forced their way inside and raped her. They took her away from her apartment into another part of the building, she said. They handcuffed her to the bed.

“When I was laying there……I don’t remember much of what happened…and I’m thankful for that,” Arleen said. The assaulters were not kind. They caused a number of injuries including cutting her nipples, a finger and stabbing her vaginally, she said. When the police came, they took for dead, she said. It wasn’t until she started shivering from the cold air while laying on the gurney emergency officials realized she was alive. Arleen survived. Doctors sewed two fingers back on, she said. Although one had been cleanly cut off, another one had been dangling. The stab wounds healed.

But, the nightmare was not over, Arleen said. Shortly after, Arleen, and her husband Russell II, discovered Arleen was pregnant. “We were scared to death,” she said. They didn’t know if something happened to the baby. They weren’t sure of the baby’s father’s identity due to the rape.
Fortunately, amniocentesis later revealed her husband was the father.  Through the stress, Arleen didn’t want the rape to control her life. She and her husband didn’t move out of the apartment. In the end, God showed her the way. Believing in God gave her strength, she said.“It’s hard…..at the end of the day, I am grateful to be alive. I could have died. My child I am pregnant with could have died.”

Six months later, Arleen had Russell III, one of eight children, whose ages vary from 23 to 13.Arleen came from a large family. She was born in Alcade, Ky. – and up till the age of 14 she lived with 49 family members in a home – a barn they fixed up to resemble a house.

“I was raised very poor,” she said. “There was no running water or electricity. We would go to the creek to take showers.” As the oldest of her 28 cousins, Arleen had to make sure all the chores were done before the adults returned from work. If a chore wasn’t finished, Arleen and the cousin who didn’t do the assigned chore got a spanking, she said. They may not have had money, but Arleen said it was a fun time. “It was a different world, but I love it,” she said.
They enjoyed making up games and playing along the creek in Laura Ingalls fashion.

However, when opportunity came for marriage to an older fellow who had money, she took it. She thought it would be a good idea to get out of the country.  “I got braces and went to college,” she said. “I did those things my mom and dad could not give me.” She even helped her parents, Robert and Sue Roberts, and her sisters, MaryLou, Jean, Jamie, Caroline, Ann and Rebecca Roberts, move from the country to Lexington.

Unfortunately, her first marriage wasn’t meant to be, Arleen said. Her second marriage to Russell II is very strong. “We are so good together,” she said. They can read each other’s mind. They may argue many times, but they are always there to support one another.

When things weren’t going well – financially and they needed extra money, Arleen knew she had to make a move. That’s when she made the leap to start her own company. Although the company is Arleen’s baby, both she and her husband own it together.

There have been challenges in her life, but through each one, she’s become wiser, Arleen said.“Everybody has hardships,” she said. “What makes us good humans is what we do when those bad things happen to us.”

If you found this story interesting, informative or inspiring please let Arleen know! You may contact her at 614-764-6900 (office), e-mail her at maidtomop@gmail.com visit her Web site at   www.maidtomop.net or mail the office at P.O. Box 340284, Columbus, Ohio.