Wednesday 8 October 2008

My First Rough Day

I am not going to lie - today was a tough day for this inexperienced au pair.

Last night, Ludovica and Emanuele held a small dinner party for two friends they have known since Pietro was born. When their friends arrived, one of the two named Valentina presented the three little ones with a massive play set for characters called Gormito (Whether these toys exist in the English speaking world, I am not sure, but they are much akin to Pokemon.) This, of course, sent all three children into a frenzy of excitement, and it wasn't before 10:30 p.m. that they were all in bed.

This present was unmistakably the source of all our misery today. Not having had a good night's sleep, the three children were beyond the state of grumpiness. When I picked up Anna and Pietro from school, I was initially greeted with a big bear hug, lulling me into a false sense of security. But as soon as I told them that they had to hold my hand on the way home, Pietro burst into tears, and Anna, being a little more volatile than the rest, threw herself to the ground screaming "I want my mommy" in Italian. All I could do was pick her up, legs flailing and arms punching, and carry her home, all the while straining to make sure that Pietro wouldn't go and do something stupid like run out into the road.

The worst part was that everyone on the street was watching this terrible scene. I didn't mind so much that all eyes were glued on me and the little two year old screaming in my arms. Rather, it was the fact that Anna was yelling "I want my mommy" - and the last thing I wanted anyone to think was that I was some kind of kidnapper snatching up random children from local daycare centres!

Thankfully, nothing came of it. We got home, and almost as soon as we got to the apartment staircase, both Anna and Pietro forgot all of their worries and became as happy as Larry. I wonder if even they knew what exactly they were howling about!

6 comments:

The Wonder Worrier said...

Ah. Kids.

These rough days will come and go, working with young children is so unpredictable.

Luckily the good days are so often SO GOOD that the bad days can be quickly forgotten. :-)

Anonymous said...

Heather, I would have been more surprised if this had NOT happened. They are kids after all and you are going thru a learning curve. Stay true, just cope and it will work out. Dad

heather-in-italia said...

Thanks guys :-) I am taking it in my stride. After all, they are going through an adjustment period as well, having a new person invade their home. Today they seem much better since they got a good sleep last night!

heather-in-italia said...

Oh, and dad, I have complete and utter respect for you and mum now ;)

Anonymous said...

Aww Heather! I'm sorry to hear about your rough day. That's really one of the reasons I never took on babysitting - dealing with unruly kids has never been my talent. Sounds like they were just unleashing their 'had-a-bad-day' feelings on you, lol.

Funny how sleep directly affects kids so much. The same is true for adults of course, we just hide our grumpiness better. With that in mind, just make sure YOU also get enough sleep! ;-)

heather-in-italia said...

I will!! It's hard because my only free time is after 10:00, not really allowing for much "Heather alone time"! :P This being said, I am honestly loving every minute...the kids are lovely overall and when they are in a good mood, they are a pleasure to be with.

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