Nurse

I employed "Nurse" when Megan was about 9 months old and had been on antibiotics on and off for over 5 months.  Our paediatrician told me that the only way for my baby to actually get well again would be to take her out of day care, permanently.

That all sounds very simple, but we were a two income family and there was no way we could afford to go down to one.  We were 25 and 27 with a mortgage and a baby, there was no disposable income!  In South Africa you get your 4 months maternity leave and you get your ass back to work.  

There is no such thing as “working for families” or “work, life, balance”.  I remember how I cried that first day, it felt like my right arm had been ripped off of me and I had to just be brave and “drive away”.  That was the hardest thing in the world.  (Trusting a virtual stranger with your most precious possession, getting into your car and driving away).  The first day I lasted a whole 3 hours and went back.  The next day I started work for real and handed her over from 7am to 5:30pm.  

To say “that day sucked” would be a very kind embellishment of the truth.   The greater insult was that we had to pay R600 a month for the privilege.  It seemed an impossible idea but thankfully God had already worked it out for us.  The Little Stars Day-care Centre had to downscale, they were going to let go of 4 staff.  Nurse, who worked at the centre, was one of the staff that they were planning to make redundant.  

She was Megan’s favorite and it all worked out, we offered Nurse the job and she happily accepted, her hours were cut and she only had to take care of 1 child for the same wage.  We were all really happy and most importantly, Megan got healthier.  It was much easier to leave her at home and time moved on.