New Nanny Sharing Challenges for 2008

I was invited to go to Bree’s house on Friday for a ‘meeting’ to discuss plans for next year. I had been expecting this to happen soon. I thought they would certainly call for one before I took off for my annual holidays. And with the decision made to send Stella to school next year, I had been wondering if I would continue to look after her in 2008 at all. I was also a little worried that the parents might plan without consulting me. Nanny sharing can be quite tricky when circumstances change for the families involved. It can be quite disastrous for the nanny if the parents involved are not considering her needs in their plans. This nanny learned this the hard way a few years ago when working for two other families from hell. When I planned to work for these two families at the beginning of 2006, I made it clear to the parents that I would like to be involved in their nanny sharing plans and did not wish to be left without proper choices or to be given little time to consider any options. I made it very clear that ‘take it or leave’ is not a proper option, especially if I was not given enough time to consider other employment opportunities.

I turned up at Bree’s house expecting the worse even though I have been happy working for the two families and have been treated fairly since I started. I guess I lost some of my ability to trust the families I work for since my lousy experience with the previous two families. When I got there, Stella and her mum weren’t there. They called shortly after my arrival to inform us that they were running a little late. Bree’s mum offered me a drink and started without Stella’s mum. She thanked me for looking after Bree so well. She said that Bree’s approaching birthday not only reminded her of the little miracle but also of how the journey so far was made heaps easier by having such a caring nanny. Bree played on the floor between the two of us. I can’t stand compliments. I must have been blushing because Bree came over to poke at my face. Bree’s mum continued the conversation, telling me that they will be some changes in 2008 and asked if I would be happy to look after Bree for another year. Of course I am happy to look after Bree. I love working with toddlers and she is just so easy to look after.

The doorbell rang and Bree ran up the hallway to greet the guests. It was Stella and her mum. Uh-duh! Stella needed no prompting to greet everyone. She gave me a big hug and that prompted Bree to do the same. Bree’s mum invited everyone to the family room. I sat on the sofa wondering what sort of changes to expect while the girls played with Bree’s blocks. It was quite awkward for me to have both the parents here. Just as I was imagining horns growing on the heads of the two mothers, Bree’s mum suggested to Stella’s mum that we use the (formal) living room for the mother and nanny chat. Even though Stella knew that I also looked after Bree, she insisted on showing me the way to that room. LOL. Did she not realise that I knew my way around this big house? LOL. Seeing that we were heading to the front of the house again, Bree hurried to follow. She requested that I carry her. Her mum tried to explain that I was going for a little chat with Stella’s mum and she could play with Stella. Stella flatly refused, choosing to stay with her mum. Bree hung on to me and wouldn’t let go, preferring to stay with me. I placed her on the floor and she took off, running into the living room with Stella. As Stella’s mum and I got comfy on the couch, Bree’s mum picked up her cheeky little girl to leave the room. Bree was saying ‘no’ repetitively. She wasn’t throwing a tantrum. She was just saying it to get attention. As they walked down the hallway, we heard the little cheeky one saying, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Stella shut the door and told me why they were late today. She informed me that her mum drove past her school. That is quite a detour! Stella’s house is pretty close to Bree’s house. The school is a couple of suburbs away. Stella’s parents finally picked the school and she has been asking to visit ever since. She said she can now remember going there for a meeting a long time ago. Like Bree’s mum, Stella’s mum praised me for my work and both mum & dad think that they are blessed to have found a nanny sharing their parenting style. She also said that Stella’s dad is delighted with the ways in which I encourage Stella to become a mini mathematician. Apparently, Stella repeats some of the activities we do when I am not there. She would explain to her dad how to solve some problems. This mother and nanny chat went on a little longer because we kept getting interrupted by an excited Stella who just couldn’t stop talking about going to school. She talked about going to school after Christmas. I told her that school will start after Australia Day and that is weeks after Christmas. For a child, that is a long time after Christmas.

Cheeky Bree also couldn’t resist running down the hallway to knock on the living room door every now and then. She was attempting to knock on the door again when we emerged from the room. She saw us and ran, laughing down the hallway with Stella chasing her from behind.

With the two ‘mother and nanny’ chats all wrapped up, this nanny was heading to the ‘mothers and nanny’ chat next. I wondered how long they were planning to keep me in suspense. Despite the compliments, I was still expecting the worse. They didn’t want to take up most of my Friday and so as soon as the girls were playing together, the mothers filled me in with the changes.

Here is what they are asking me to do next year:
· Look after Bree from Monday – Thursday + up to 2 Fridays per month.
· Look after Bree from 8:45 am to 3:00 pm at Bree’s house.
· Take Bree to Stella’s house after 3:00 pm (arriving at no later than 3:40 pm) to look after both Bree and Stella till 6:00 pm.
· Bree will be picked up between 5:30 – 5:45 pm by either mum or dad while Stella’s mum will arrive home by around 6:00 pm.
· This nanny will be relieved of dinner duties but may still be requested to prepare and refrigerate parts of Bree’s dinner on most days.
· School Holidays: Look after both girls from Monday – Thursday, from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm alternating at either girl’s homes on a weekly basis.

Both mothers requested that I think about what they outlined over this long weekend. They reassured me that nothing is final without my input. Bree’s mum asked if I could cope with the different schedules and locations. One of the first things I told them was that I liked the idea of the two girls being looked after together. I told the mothers that I will have to think about these changes carefully. Some questions are already forming in my head as I type along right now. I suggested to them that we may have to talk again about this and they agreed to schedule for it as soon as I am ready.

Bree’s mum had to wait for the cleaners to arrive. They are giving the house a big clean up before Ettie’s (Bree’s grandma) arrival on Saturday for Melbourne Cup as well as for the precious little girl’s 2nd Birthday. Stella’s mum offered to drive me home. They were heading to the city to see Stella’s dad for lunch and mother & daughter were planning to shop for Bree’s birthday gift after that. I felt like I was walking on air for a while. I love compliments but am just not good at receiving them. The happiness didn’t last long though. I just can’t stop thinking that I will be in for a huge nasty surprise later on or that I must have misunderstood what they laid out. I guess I probably never fully recover from my nasty experiences of working for the two previous families from hell.