saying Goodbye

It is hard to describe her - friend, family, nanny - either way she has been an important part of my life. Carly started with us when Kaitlyn was 1. Almost two years ago exactly. Scott was starting PA school and we had decided on having a nanny instead of putting Kaitlyn in day care. The agency could only find us someone for the summer and was looking for someone to take over for the fall. I liked Carly the minute I read her packet she sent to the nanny agency and liked her even more when I spoke with her and met her. For those who have kids especially moms you know what a big deal it is to find someone you feel comfortable with watching your children. I think it is hard enough to find a babysitter or daycare but honestly it adds a layer of familiarity and difficulty when the person I coming into your home.

Carly was the best. She did a great job those 6 weeks and in that time period we decided that we would be unlikely to find anyone we liked as much and that maybe my then 14 month old would be ready for a nice daycare center down the street from us. That worked out great but Carly continued to baby sit for us occasionally and more importantly she would fill in those times when Kaitlyn was sick and couldn't go to daycare and Scott and I couldn’t' stay home with her because of work/school commitments. I don't think she ever said No when I called her with an emergency - I need help now. We had no family living near us at that point and parenting a small child while one spouse is in school and the other works full time with clinical responsibilities can be challenging.

When we got pregnant with Owen it was worth it for us to work out a schedule with Carly. She watched Owen M, W and Friday and my aunt on Tuesday's and Thursdays. Even with this split it was still more expensive then putting Owen in Daycare full time and keeping Kaitlyn home with him would also have been cheaper. But this was the right solution for our family and I am truly blessed that she was still available to us to do this. She graduated in May but stayed in town for the summer to continue to watch him. She didn't have to, she could have gone home lived with her parents and gotten a part time job and been closer to her boyfriend but I think she had committed to doing this with us so she did. I'll never know what she would have rather done.

She's been good to us, flexible, easy to get along with and most importantly terribly good with my children. When she left us the first time after nannying Kaitlyn I told her "It is hard to leave your kids with anyone but you made it easy." In the world of child care we hit the jack pot with her and she will be thoroughly missed.

But now onto Owen's next chapter - I can only hope it works out as well for him as it did for my little girl.

Goodbyes are tough - We'll miss you