Parting is such sweet sorrow...

Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Wow what a departure story I have for you! About 7 years ago I took a position in sunny Miami about a 4 hour drive from my home town in Florida with what seemed to be a good family. Simple job of caring for two little girls after school along with household management duties during the day. I drove down on a Monday and was immediately put to work as mom had to go get the girls from preschool and I was asked to get a snack prepared while she was gone. Night went smoothly after that but I started to get worried when mom and dad told me it was my job to get the youngest down to bed with absolutely no feedback on her bedtime routine and then was told everything I did wrong. I politely told them that if they wished me to follow the routine then they would have to teach me it or else not to complain. Before going to bed I asked them if they needed me for anything in the morning (I wasn't suppose to work technically till later in the day) and was told no but was given a list of things to do pertaining to the household (laundry for girls and organizing and restocking the pantry of essential items). Needless to say I didn't get up early and did my work that day as told. When the mom got home she preceded to yell at me for not getting up at 5am to make sure their coffee was made and I had organized the pantry wrong according to her standards. I told the mother that after the kids went to bed we could talk and went on about my business. Later that night i stood there and listened while the parents talked to me about their expectations from the "nanny". I had to laugh at everything and told them politely that this was not the job for me after all but that I would stay for the rest of the week. They were ok with it and in their own snobbish way said it was better that way. Oooo was I naive to think that was it.

The next morning at precisely 5 am the mom comes barging into my room demanding I get up and make her coffee and help with the kids. I told her that I would help with the kids buy she could make her own coffee. That's where it got bad. Suddenly I was accused of stealing the money she had given me for travel to the job, told I was a lazy slob because I refused to help the housecleaner clean the day before, o and I was a bad nanny because I didn't put away the bin of painting supplies the night before (she got it out and I didn't know where it went). An yes she said I was stealing her food because i ate to much dinner in her eyes the night before. Before I could even speak she grabbed up the kids and left the house. I immediately packed up my car and sent her an email and text message saying I could not stay around with that type of behavior and I left locking the back door behind me.

For the next week I got harassing emails threatening everything from her calling the cops to writing ads talking bad about me so "I'll never get another nanny job". She did make good on the second craziness by contacting the website we had found each other and reporting me which promptly found me deleted from their website. Even writing to the company and producing the emails did not help. O well because the day after I left that job I meet another wonderful family and was with them for 5 years. Karma ya know!