Nanny Love

My nanny is going back to China for a month and half. I have a love/hate relationship with her. She represents everything about Chinese culture that I can't stand. In the four months she's worked for us, she's managed to offend me more times than I can count. She's asked me if I was pregnant whilst pointing to my post-partum flub, she's told me my jacket doesn't match my scarf, she's asked for a raise insisting that a few dollars doesn't make a difference to me, she's criticized my sewing, my job, my parenting skills, my housekeeping skills and my ability to choose fresh vegetables. On the days when she comes, I spend the three hours leading up to her arrival planning my escape. As soon as she walks through the door, I talk her through the day and then grab my purse and run out of the house. I try and spend as little time interacting with her as possible, and yet, sometimes she manages to offend me even in the 15 minutes we cross paths: an awesome feat. My friends ask me why I continue to use her. To the typical American, she's violated every boundary and professional code of conduct in existence.

Today, she asked me if she could take a picture with Greyson. She's worried that while she's in China, I'll have found someone else and won't need her when she gets back, a fear I have perpetuated during her more annoying moments. She's afraid she won't see him again. This is why I put up with her. She loves my son, and when you're a mom, you put up with incredible inconveniences and unjustices for the good of your kid. Bottom line: I can walk out of the house, albeit irritated by some comment she's made, but completely at peace as far as Greyson's concerned.

Today I walked in on her feeding Greyson. She had him propped on the couch with two red cushions and she was kneeling on the floor feeding him a bottle. He was wearing his blueberry hat and smiling oodles. The whole scene was hilarious and when I interrupted his feed to nurse him, she seemed disappointed. I guess I had walked in on a moment. Here are some photos of Greyson in his ridiculous get up, sitting up in bed against some pillows she propped behind him. Cutie.