Tales from the Steppes

2006-07-13

11:58 a.m.
Thursday, July 13

.....and if this illustrative plan assumes an 800 space parking garage.....

No music today - I have multiple items at the Board and so I have to listen to the Board over the phone to keep track of where they are at. Blah blah blah. All things considered, it could be a whole lot worse.

I am actually in a pretty good mood today. Right after I had posted on Monday about Meg dropping my kids off without suitable things to occupy themselves for several hours, my old babysitter, Hosanna, IMed me. Hosanna started sitting for me when the YM was 5 months old. It is essentially thanks to her that I have made it through graduate school. She made it possible for me to not worry (too much) about him when I was in class.

Ok, there were some bumps along the way. There was the final studio presentation in my first studio, when she had a family crisis of some sort. The SU had just started a new job and had a day full of meetings and could not get out of them. I needed that day to finish my project - which didn't happen. And then had to do the presentation with all three mongols there. Hellish. At that time, they were 8 months, 3 and nearly 6. The head of my program held the YM for me, as he was in that crawly, eat things off the floor stage.

But mostly things went well. Hosanna was in college at the time, so I arranged my schedule around her availability. She graduated when the YM was 3 and ready to go to preschool but has still sat for us in the evenings and other occasions. We have stayed close because she is much more like a member of the family than someone who "works" for me. She comes to parties at my house, as well as us eating lunch together sometimes.

But lately her job has sucked and she knew I was very unhappy wtih Meg. So Monday, when her boss cut her hours drastically, she IMed me and said she would fill in for the rest of the summer - a win-win situation. No more coming home and having to spend an hour cleaning my kitchen. No more wondering about whether the mongols will actually get the things on the lists I leave them done. I could not count on Meg to actually make them do their homework and housework done. And the mongols did not listen to Meg and argued constantly with her. They listen to Hosanna, as she has established her authority over them.

So the SU and I essentially fired Meg over Tuesday and Wednesday. We decided that even if Hosanna was not able to work, we would rather send the kids to daycamp than continue. I have been way too stressed out about what has been going on with the mongols and it has been a real problem. It does not help that I am essentially paying more money for childcare than I am actually making, after taxes. And benefits. This makes me grumpy. And to be paying for the mongols to essentially sit in front of the tv really pisses me off.

We were able to agree on a severance package that works for all and Hosanna starts on Monday. I can now breathe a sigh of relief.