Anti-Climactic

Well. There is no au pair at my house right now. She is stranded in Connecticut, thanks to global warming. (or maybe just a standard summer storm, but I don't know - things here have been a bit extreme lately)

The poor thing sounded so tiny and tired when she called me from a pay phone at LaGuardia. I think the phone was installed sometime around my birth in the early seventies, so of course we couldn't hear each other. I just heard the tired tone and perhaps a faint hint of weepiness.

I spent about an hour and a half on hold with American Airlines (a total of three times) trying to reschedule her flight. First, they tried to tell me that the only available flight out of NY was tomorrow night and had a transfer in North Carolina. Oh HELL no.

I managed to find an early afternoon flight out of Stewart Airport in Newburgh, NY, near my old stomping grounds in Poughkeepsie.  The flight details have been faxed to Paty's hotel, Dylan and I re-created our welcome sign in brighter colors, and I now have another evening and morning to procrastinate the organization of the house. I DID manage to clean out my car, but due to the storm, I had to do it next to a garbage can in my parking garage at work. And while I was doing it, some nasty garage pigeon crapped on my car. BUT, the inside is clean. What's a little bird crap when you're Cheerio free??

Comments

[Lori]

Good luck with Paty! It will take a few weeks to get used to, but hopefully in the end you'll be as happy as we are with our au pair. She's a GODSEND! The beginning can be hard. In my experience, it really takes the first month for them to settle in, meet people, and feel comfortable in your house. Good luck!

[Becki]

Poor Paty. Poor you. I hope she arrives safely and soon, and that you all settle in together well.