Titi

For over 5 years, Evelyn has gone to our babysitter Titi’s house while we work.  In that time, she’s grown from a tiny three month old to a smart and sassy girl full of enthusiasm and energy (and plenty of attitude too!).  Our girlie starting kindergarten is the end of an era for us.  She’ll be going full day which means that today is last day she will spend at Titi’s house.  She may still go from time to time if school is closed, but it will never be the same.  I can’t believe we are already at this to point.  CRAAZY!!

 

I’ve been reflecting a lot on the past 5 years and how grateful I am that we have Titi in our lives.  The fact that we only ended up sending Evelyn to her because our original sitter fell through at the last minute makes me believe that God had hand in it.  I was so nervous to go back to work and leave my baby girl with a stranger.  And at that time, that’s what she was.  A stranger.  Pat and Rita knew her though and she came highly recommended.  She had been watching children for over 30 years so I wasn’t worried about her not having experience.  What I was worried about was if she would give Evelyn the love and attention that I wanted her to have.  I remember meeting Titi.  I was immediately struck by how warm and kind she was.  I felt more at ease with the situation and, even though I still struggled with going back to work, it didn’t take me long trust Titi and to see that Evelyn was fine.  Better that fine – she thrived!  And she absolutely loved Titi.  Two years later, when Mitch came along, we didn’t hesitate to leave him with her.  Over the years, we have been impressed with Titi’s endless patience and the genuine affection she has for the children in her care.  We love how she can see the best in our children, even when they are being little stinkers.  There have been times I doubted myself as a parent because of something, and she has always reassured me that the kids are fine.  In fact, she regularly tells Pat and I how lucky we are to have two such smart and caring children.  That makes me feel so good, especially considering I don’t always see that with them once we get home.  I mean, let’s be honest, my kids can play very well together, but I spend a great deal of time telling them to stop aggravating each other, to play nicely, to quit beating each other up.  It is incredibly good to hear that the kids can behave!!

Being a parent is hard, and being a working parent comes with its own set of challenges.  I feel incredibly blessed to have had Titi’s help for the past 5 years.  Evelyn is excited for her next adventure, but she will miss Titi and Titi has already expressed several times how much she will miss Evelyn.  Luckily, they will still see each other once in a while since Mitch will still be there.  Hopefully that will help ease the transition.