Geriatric Kitty-time

Hello dear readers -

Kitty-time can breathe freely and easily again today. The extra aging lines on my face and puffiness under my eyes, will hopefully go away, but I cannot be sure. C'est vrai. Kitty-time has been put through the ringer for the past two days. And it brings to light a very important subject.

Nannies.

Unless you have a nanny that you adore and appreciate, you really cannot comprehend the gravity of this situation. You can read this and think "oh, well, it worked out" or "I would have just fired her and found another."

But trust moi, dear readers. You have absolutely no idea what this living hell is like until you find yourself in it OR you have a nanny. Kitty-time has a fabulous nanny. She is responsible, reliable, dedicated and loves my darling daughter. Sure - having a nanny in your house can be a pain - and there are downsides to having a nanny. Things happen in their life, they bring the baggage to work, their kids get sick, they miss work, etc etc. All of these things throw a wrench in your day and make perfect attendance at work - impossible.

But more than anything, our nanny is the cat's meow and I would never want to lose her.

She has been gone for almost 6 weeks and told me that she was returning to work on Wednesday. I began practically counting down the minutes a week ago. But then.....

Tuesday afternoon came and went, no word from her.
Tuesday night - no word.
Wednesday - no sight of her.
By this time, kitty-time had a 50 pound knot in her chest.

Where is the nanny?
IS she being held against her will?
Did druglords whisk her off to the jungle and are holding her against her will?
Did the dates get mixed up?
Did bad weather delay flights?
Did she change her mind and suddenly is never returning to the country?
What will we do? Who will tend to our daughter? Who is going to miss work again to stay home because we have no one to watch the baby?
How can this really be happening?

Kitty-time's mind was reeling, heart racing, head pounding, everything was falling apart.

If you think I'm being dramatic...then again, you don't have a nanny. Check back and read this post after you've invested a year into a nanny and you love that person....

And then....it happened. Kitty-time's laid back, easy going, never gets stressed husband admitted that he, too, was beginning to panic.

Mais non!!!

The 50 pound knot suddenly became 250 pounds. My chest was caving in. My pounding head became a full-blown migraine. Sleep was impossible.

If laid back husband is worried, then kitty-time doesn't have a dog in this fight.

We began plotting our next move. When we would start interviewing nannies, how we would juggle next week's work.

Meanwhile, back behind the scenes in kitty-time's mind entered these questions:

Do the US authorities invest time and energy into locating a missing woman who has a green card but is not yet a citizen?
How would I find the authorities in Ecuador?
Where are her children?
Why would she not be coming back? It can only mean the worst.

Perhaps I've seen that Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe movie set in Latin America...where Crowe locates kidnapped Americans...that one. Maybe I've seen that movie one too many times, I will admitt.

But back to the crisis - kitty-time also really doesn't have the energy or strength to endure the nanny finding process again. This is not in my plan. This is not what is supposed to be happening. We are supposed to keep our beloved nanny until are darling daugther can start in preschool. Life is easier, smoother and consistent that way.

This morning, the crisis became resolved. It was downgraded from code red to over with. Kitty-time, in her efforts to stalk members of the nanny's family and in-laws, managed to locate someone in the area who knows the nanny and could confirm her arrival back in the US on Saturday.

IT's true, Saturday the 20th is definitely NOT Wednesday the 17th.

But really - that doesn't matter. Nanny is returning to the country. Nanny is safe and unharmed. She is not being held against her wild. Druglords did not steal her. And let's be honest, my house will be clean again and my darling daughter - well cared for.

All is well.
Kitty-time can breathe.

What is the lesson in all of this.

The lesson is the threat of losing a beloved nanny will throw your entire life off balance. It will spiral the most level-headed person into a state of insanity. Even the most relaxed person out there will need Xanax. Kitty-time's mother suggested a hot tottie.

How about some hard liquor pumped into my veins through an IV?

The other lesson is that the life of a working mom is very fragile. It is a tight rope with the balancing act being held together with a porcelin shell. Any curveballs in the day can mean the working mom is teetering on the edge of her tight rope, barely hanging on. But a crisis of epic proportions involves the daily quality care of the child. And when that is threatened.....all is not well and every decision you make is questioned...starting with "should I really be working?"

Bottom line:
Love your nannies, dear readers, because losing them will age your beautiful face and tighten your pretty chest in ways you cannot imagine. Kitty-time doesn't even wish this ordeal upon her enemies, even the most loyal of Bush supporters.