Tuesday, August 31, 2021

A Young Person's Game

 So D1 and Joey have always had a nanny since they both work full time, and there has been accompanying nanny drama. The first one, Doris, was terrific, but she had to return to her native Colombia during Covid's beginning, and then there were a few non starters.

After a year long nanny quit, they hired an older lady 3 weeks ago. Wifey thinks she was close to her age, which can never be revealed even after Wifey starts Medicare in December. The lady seemed nice enough, but Wifey noticed she was taking a lot of breaks. Sure enough, she called in gone Monday. And D1 had a critical business call in the afternoon.

No problem. Wifey and I cruised up to the house around 4, and spent a delightful 2 hours with our grandson. But I realized something. I don't have THAT much patience for a toddler, and Wifey lacks energy for more than an hour or so. Sure enough, after playing floor golf for an hour, Wifey fell into a deep sleep for the next hour. I took over.

Wifey and I COMBINED are essentially one toddle baby sitter. This parenting young kids truly is a young adults' game.

Joey came home, and we left the beautiful young family. Fortunately, they found a replacement nanny who starts Wednesday -- and hopefully she'll last a bit longer. Child care for the well off is tough enough -- no wonder it's a leading issue in the US. 

We were fortunate. Wifey  became a full time Mom after D1 was born, and I was able to support us on my earnings alone. Also -- it seemed much easier to find good child care in the 80s and 90s than it is today, even though the birth rate is down.

We stopped at Akashi, a sushi place D2 loves, and found it a cluster. They only do takeout, and after an hour post Uber Eats order we were ready to abandon the project, when a text came that the order was ready. Still -- Wifey had to fight her way in amongst the many UberEats/Grubhub folks. I realized the issue -- the place is right across from UM, and school's in session. They were selling sushi like it grew in the rivers...

Our First World drama continues today. We're headed over to Bouche, a place that sells and installs appliances. We used them years ago when we rebuilt our last house after Hurricane Andrew. They're expensive but worth it.

If the new fridge will take several months to get, Junior, Al the owner's son, said his crew can haul away our old unit and install the Home Depot job I have in the garage. If the time is shorter -- I'll just return the normal fridge to HD.

In the mean time, I think I'm losing weight because of this. I'm used to walking the few steps and pulling out something to eat. Now, a trip to the garage causes hesitation -- am I REALLY hungry?

Luckily, the ice maker I bought is working, so Zoom and actual cocktail parties are a go. So like the anthem of all women, I will survive.

And I am SO grateful my only child duties are temporary and short. I'm 60. That stuff is for the young-uns.

No comments: