miss natalie

the funny thing about getting older- is how life's black and whites become increasingly gray. for some time, i've had a particular stance about nannies. the idea just didn't seem right- it seemed some how irresponsible or cold to have children and opt not to be the primary caregiver.


for me, a large reason to have children would be to enjoy the process of raising and spending time with them. plus, there are so many potential downsides to the nanny business. can you really trust another person to look after your children the way you would? how do you find a good nanny? will your children be resentful or distant if they spend the majority of their week with a nanny and would this ruin their emotional development? would you regret missing so many special moments and memories that occure in ordinary, day-to-day life?

taz challenged my views in a long conversation many years ago. . . and i began to see how done properly, a nanny can be an extension of the family and facilitate rather than replace parenting. this was highlighted in my trip to visit my sister and her brood in gainesville a couple of weeks ago.

this past spring, vern had decided to hire a nanny that could watch the kids on tuesdays and thursdays while she worked part-time. it was a tough decision that was met with much resistance from my mother and self-inflicted guilt on the part of my sister. however, miss natalie, a beautiful, sweet, woman-child of a character, has been working out beautifully. . . and because of my long stay in florida, i would have the opportunity to observe miss natalie, see how she interacted with my sister and the kids, and assess the general dynamics of the situation.

i'm glad to say that it works well. miss natalie was a natural with the kids. she's an interesting, bright young woman- so eager to please and quite lost in many ways. within minutes of meeting- she was confiding everything to me from her dysfunctional family who stopped supporting her at age 17 which left her working multiple jobs to pay for her schooling, bills, housing, etc to her current romantic relationship. her rough upbringing forced her to grow up too quickly and give her a bit of an edge that is oddly contrasted by an undeniable cloud of naivete and youthful bravado. she has big dreams and i sincerely hope that she manages to overcome her current circumstances and continue to better herself. however, as miss natalie talked in circles about her various interests, her desire to have a whole "football team" of children, and the details of her drama-filled-as-only-in-high-school relationship i foresaw that this would be no easy task.

but for the time being, the kids adore miss natalie, she's fun but firm and likes to play games and music, but as soon as mommy is home- it's all about mommy. not only are my niece and nephew as attached to my sister as ever, they are well adjusted kids who are lucky to be in such a warm, loving environment.