Mary Poppins, round 1

All too soon I'll be heading back to work. Sigh.  

I love my job, and I am so lucky to work so close to home - and to have such a short work day.  I really can't complain about any of it...except that I'd rather stay home.  :)  

But, that's just not possible - so Kyle and I have begun the search for the perfect nanny.  We're looking at going the nanny route instead of a daycare for several reasons.  Finances being number one.  Plus, I like the idea of Abby having one constant person taking care of her in our home rather than her being one of many in somebody else's home.  We're researching daycares too - just so we know all our options - but I think we'll end up with a nanny.  

So, I put out an ad.  I thought that we might get a few responses back over the next month and that, if we were lucky, one of them would be a good fit.  Well, I was surprised to get almost 50 responses back in the first day of the posting.  Can you say overwhelming?  I quickly decided I was going to need a system for sorting through all these potential care takers.  

Most people sent normal e'mails - they introduced themselves, some stated why they would like the job, several sent resume's and references.  Some, however, were less than stellar.  My favorite was the person (who didn't even sign their name) who wrote, and I quote, "I can watch her, I watched my cousin once."

Seriously?  I think not.  Delete. 

I also made the decision to delete any e'mail that was written in broken english or very poor grammar.  I am sure these are all lovely and qualified people - but with so many overachievers, I had to cut down the numbers somehow.  One daughter wrote to me asking me to hire her mom, who speaks no English.  She assured me, however, that she would always be available by phone to translate when needed.  Sigh.  

I ended up with a list of 25 potentials.  I made a 10 question survey and sent it out to all of them.  I'm now in the process of organizing those and then we will pick a handful to interview in person.  

One of the things I asked was for them to tell me something interesting about themselves.  Some people responded to that question by telling me how much they love children and how uniquely caring and responsible they are (blah blah blah).  Some people told me something random like "I play violin" or "my parents own a palace"  But, then some people decided to tell me, more or less, their life story which ended in why they really needed this job.  

I feel bad - many of these people are out of work.  Some have been laid off from big companies, some were nannies for other families who could no longer afford to keep them.  Several of them are almost begging me for this job - and I have to chose one.  Meaning, I have to let down several dozen.  

In the end, of course, it will come down to how we mesh with these people face to face, how their references check out, and their other qualifications - but I do feel for them.  

Wish us luck on our search for the perfect somebody to watch our Abby. 

PS: any of you friends or family who have decided that a move to Boston sounds perfect right about now- we're encouraging you, and we will feed you.  :)