The Relaxing Life of a SAHM, or, my Nanny Jackie

This week, I am employing a Nanny. Her name is Jackie. She is fabulous.*

Why, you ask?

Well, my packers are arriving on Monday (yes, this coming Monday) and my wonderful, hardworking husband is off eating glorious food/working hard/hopefully not getting sick in Southeast Asia, and I am preparing our home by myself. He will come home to oral surgery and an empty house. This was my scheduling choice, which enables our goods to get to the UK when Josh is actually there to receive them (hopefully) assuming we have done right with the gods of visas and shipping.

Or it could all fall apart. The outlook is still not certain. Anyway, goods will arrive in London at some point  and so will we.  I have been working hard to get rid of teaching materials, things we will never need in the UK, things that will never fit in our house, and basically trying to consolidate our life.

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It was funny this morning when I read this article about the Ann Romney/Hillary Rosen debate over motherhood, which led me to this article by Amy Wilson.  The first time I went to the UK to look for schools, I had to put my occupation. I left it blank. The customs officer asked what I did and after I stumbled over an answer, he helpfully filled in "housewife."

'But that isn't what I am at all!' I wanted to tell him.  I organize international moves for our family! I organize small children for neighborhood Easter egg hunts! I volunteer once a week in my daughter's school!  Like a friend once had for her email signature, I manage chaos and try to have Shalom Bayit (peace in our home).  Do you think the immigration officer would look kindly on me if I wrote "Chaos Engineer on my next form?" I try to cook dinner and create a social life and friends for our family-on-the-move. I don't think all of that can be distilled in "housewife" or "SAHM."  Or maybe those words are just tainted for me with a 1950s, Mad Men type of mentality that does not align with my previously feminist philosophies.  That being said, I do value both my mom and Josh's mom, who were two very different types of moms but both rocked it in their own ways and for their own reasons.  Courage, bravery, strength and love are found with all kinds of mothers, no matter how you work.

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This week I was going through my teaching materials. I am giving away the remainder of my classroom library, and weeding through my professional materials.  It is surprisingly harder than I thought it would be. I was hoping to just have a box or two to take to London. Instead, I was able to get all of our holiday materials into one box, and my teaching materials will probably take up five.  (I just can't give up Fountas & Pinnell.)  I don't know what my professional future holds and I know that Ellie and Sam are especially dependent on me right now. They did not like that there was someone else to pick them up or drop them off, even though they knew Jackie already, she is temporary, and she is amazing.  I miss my students. I miss the interaction with them, planning lessons, teaming with colleagues. I don't miss the work crap, like PLCs or paperwork for the sake of paperwork.  I miss grading parties and happy hours and teacher talk and new babies and the dedication of my colleagues to always getting the best out of their students.

Teaching is full of celebrations and love. I hope I will be able to connect back to it in the UK.

*I will tell you more about nannies in a different post.