Lunatics

Wednesday was a strange day. My mom came at 7:45AM, because I had to get to work for morning meetings and then class. Before I left, Jeff checked his email and found that nanny candidate one had sent him a rather abrasive email. It threw us a little off guard. At the end of her interview, we had candidly told her that we were interviewing other people and that it would take a couple weeks before we had made a decision. Candidate one was the candidate who got weird when it came to money (specifically when I mentioned that we planned to pay social security). Well, her email to Jeff basically said that she wanted to know why we hadn't selected her for the position, to let us know that she got a job taking care of triplets for two surgeons who will be offering her 60 hours per week, and that we were ill-mannered for not informing her of our decision, and she hoped that our child would end up with better manners. Jeff hasn't responded yet. The tenor of the email was such that we want to phrase a response as delicately as possible. We wish that she didn't know where we live. After reading the email, words like "lunatic," "crazy," "crackpot," and "Oh my, how did this person even get into the running for being around my child" came to mind. As it is, we still haven't finalized our decision yet. We just got a second reference for candidate two. Candidate two and candidate three both seem promising. We didn't get weird vibes from either of them. It will be hard making a decision between the two. And, we know both of them need this job and the market is obviously tight right now. After seeing the crazy email, I am concerned about leaving my son in the hand's of a stranger. To heighten my anxiety, I witnessed a moment at work where a person seemed normal one minute and then made some very bizarre comments the next. It left me with a sense that the world isn't a safe place.

Over the past several months, Jeff and I have seen and felt the most beautiful sides of human nature. Amidst the most painful time in our lives when it was unclear whether or not Henry would make it, family, friends, friends of family, and acquaintances near and far prayed for Henry and were incredibly supportive (and still are today). Then, of course, there is Henry. We have had a unique opportunity at witnessing Henry's development. Part of Henry's development is, of course, affected by the environment we provide for him. But there is a large part of Henry that has little to do with us. My son is hard-wired happy, optimistic, and determined. Those traits make up the essence of Henry. And that's a beautiful thing to see.

With so much beauty around me, I perhaps dwell too much on the negative. I have never been particularly trusting of others as it is...let alone with the most important person in the world to me and Jeff. At least Jeff does work from home. And my job does allow me to do a lot from home. I can't imagine having to leave my son in someone else's care for 60 hours a week (those poor triplets...if they even exist). We are shooting for 30 hours at the moment. The plan is for me to take care of Henry in the early morning while Jeff starts work (EST). We'll have the nanny come into the house from 8AM to 2PM. Assuming that Jeff's work ends at 2-3PM (AZ time depending on daylight savings), he'll spend the time in the afternoon with Henry. And, Grammy and Grandpa want their share of Henry time too.

Grammy reported that Henry rolled toward his bouncy seat when he was ready for his rice cereal this morning. She said that he devoured his rice cereal. In fact, he pulled the small bowl that my mom was holding out of her hands and slurped up the rice cereal directly from it (she had made it kind of soupy). He ate a couple bowls of it for me in the afternoon. I fell asleep in the late afternoon, so Jeff watched Henry. Grandpa played with Henry in the evening and reported that he was moving around the floor quite a bit. I sent Jeff to bed around 10PM or so. He wasn't feeling well. I haven't been feeling well either, but I stayed up until 3:30AM yesterday (which I'm finding it harder to do as I get older, but I had work to do). Henry stayed up until 11:30PM. He then crashed in my arms.