This is Micki and her husband Gavin. Micki is our nanny. Micki started watching our kids last summer and has returned this summer. Although she doesn’t have a British accent she is about as close to Mary Poppins as you are going to get. Her first day back this summer she arrived with a giant box of sidewalk chalk ( including the new 3-D Crayola kind). The next week she arrived with a giant inflatable pool for the kids. And oh let’s not forget the new reader books for Lucy, the trips to the movie theater and the multiple visits to our neighborhood pool. She also announced that during this coming school year she is teaching Lucy the periodic table of elements. Honestly, at times I think she’s a better mother than me.

Micki is more than just our nanny though she is my right hand, the person I can ask to do the little things that can be overwhelming for a working mom. You know, empty the dishwasher, throw in a load of clothes, clean out the toy box, etc. She is always bright, cheerful and for some reason never seems annoyed at Lucy’s whining or Max’s need to bite his sister every 15 minutes.

Micki is the kind of person who’s warm personality and easy nature belie the turbulent waters that run underneath. She has her socially required crazy mother, an absent father, a pack of small pets and the desire for her own children that would make my current desire for chocolate cake seem weak and pathetic. Micki is my friend. She listens to my daily rants, my worries, my anxieties and greets them with a gentle smile, a giggle and a gentle “I’m so sorry.”

Being a parent is challenging and rewarding. I love being a stay at home mom but for me, it is best that some of my time is spent out of the house. So, for about 15 hours a week my kids are treated to play time with Micki. The best thing a mother can have in her life is someone who can take care of her children and love them as much as she does. Micki loves my children, but most importantly my children love her.