P,
As if we didn’t have enough to worry about, I’ve discovered a new breed of D.C. nanny: they manage your home and run their own successful business too. While we have been busy encouraging the in-fighting between stay at homes, full-time work outside the home and part-time in and out of the home moms, the women who work for us are kicking our butts. Yesterday, my own part-time nanny was able to administer a therapeutic massage to my throbbing temple that turned my day around. She is an incredibly capable woman, after all, who ran her own steel galvanizing business in her home country. This experience reminded me why American women end up so conflicted. It’s not whether we can do all the jobs but whether we want to that is most essential for us. On the other hand, these women are not about choice but necessity–and in the end they do what they must and then some. Of course, I in no way want to suggest fewer choices would make our lives better lest our husbands feel any less of an obligation to support the lifestyle we wish we had. No, more to the point, I am seeking the answer to the question almost no one has asked: have we checked the nannies for microchips? It’s getting a little Stepford around here.
Faithfully,
C.
