a anonymous commenter on the previous post pointed out that it’s reasonable that the au pair found Elsa overwhelming and i should probably lighten up.

if that was truly the only reason for her departure, i would not fault her for that.  but i truly think it was not, so i am a bit cranky about the whole thing.

the au pair made the decision to go home because she was homesick and lonely – something that happens a lot to au pairs after they’ve been here a month or two, before they have gotten settled and made friends.  she later said she decided she doesn’t really want to care for children, or live with them.  she refused all other re-placement offers from the au pair agency, even to easy placements, like families with one older child.   she just wanted to go home.  i think she wanted a fun adventure in the US, and the childcare part was not for her.  which is fine – we’re better off without her, in that case.

(also, for the record, i would never expect a child-care provider to deal with Elsa when her behavior spirals out of control.  i am the person to deal with it when it happens…  so, far, Elsa’s saved those behaviors for me.)

so, i don’t like her pointing to Elsa as the sole reason for her departure when in reality it was that au pair gig was just not for her.   Elsa has enough labeling and judgement from the world – she doesn’t need more.   and we are dealing with a 5-week gap in childcare because of her hasty departure, which is a total nightmare.    so i’m not in the mood to be touchy-feely and supportive of her now that she is feeling regret over her decision.

and that’s the end of my rant about the old au pair.

the new one is showing up Sept 10, and i’m hoping he’ll be great (yes, you read that right – it’s a manny!).  we were excruciatingly clear with him about what he’d be signing up for, and he’s interested in working with special needs kids (and has experience) and incredibly enthusiastic, so i’m optimistic.

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