Playing with Lachlan Again? (Take Two)

The girls had a lovely time playing with Lachlan at the park today. He was already there when we got there. He wasn’t with his nanny. His mum was with him instead. Unlike other mothers who usually do not socialize with nannies, she immediately approached me to re-introduce herself and made us feel comfortable. Lachlan was a completely different little boy. Gone was the frightened crying child. The cheerful but slightly shy Lachlan that I know was back. I got to introduce him to Bree and Bree tried to call him ‘Lochie’. Bree just followed the older two kids around. They didn’t ignore her and tried to include her most of the time.

I have always assumed that Lachlan’s mum is the type who delegates most child care to helpers but I was wrong. She seemed to be pretty hands on today and looked like she was enjoying the time spent at the park. I was dying to ask her about the other nanny but I was worried that she might be offended. She eventually brought up the situation with the nannies. She said that they have been in between nannies since just before Christmas. They have tried a few but have not found one they really like. She said that a couple of the girls were actually University students on their Summer break. It has become increasingly difficult to hire them. I suggested that she try a different agency. She then told me that the nanny they had last week was from an agency but she said it is impossible to get someone desirable on a temporary basis. It was around this time of the conversation that she revealed that Lachlan’s nanny (referring to the one that I know) is overseas. She will be back looking after Lachlan soon! Anyone who had been reading my posts should really see the invisible weight lifting off my shoulders when I found out that she was OK!

Before we parted, Lachlan’s mum joked about hiring a new permanent nanny if his previous nanny didn’t come back soon. She also confirmed next week’s play date at the park even though she was unable to confirm which nanny would accompany Lachlan on the day. To that, Lachlan, who was already strapped into his car seat, began to request repetitively that his mum come to the park with him again.

I have to say that I felt great relief knowing that the other nanny was OK after all. I am aware that she has family in the old country but I am pretty sure that the last time I heard of her plans to return was like last August. She was talking about planning a big trip including some of the family members who are already here. She used to joke about how her niece was more interested in shopping in Italy and insisted on including that country as an extra stop-over. She also worried about not having enough time to soak in her old home if they all travelled in such a large group. I didn’t think she was going so soon and for so long. She didn’t even talk about it in the weeks before I had my break.