Oh Pear.

One of the issues to be resolved during my blogging absence this spring was child care. After a few weeks of Fritz and I staggering our work hours, (Fritz worked from 5am to 1pm and I worked from 9am to 6pm), so that one of us could always be taking care of the kids, things got too stressful and I made the executive decision to try an au pair again.

Our current au pair, who lives with us and helps take care of the kids, is really doing a great job. I feel so lucky to have found someone who makes it possible for me to work. As long as we live far away from our extended families, I don't know how else we could have two working parents and three kids. The amount of time and effort it takes to keep things rolling with the kids is substantial.

Last year, we weren't so lucky with our au pair situation. And it was hard to know WHAT wasn't working or even IF it wasn't working, because we had nothing to compare it to. But now that we are experiencing a much better situation, and I find myself dreading the prospect NOT having an au pair. Having a good au pair is such a huge help for us! And I like to think that he is getting a good deal, too: lots of chances to travel and explore, and practice being an adult without all the full-out responsibilities of true adulthood.

Our current au pair is only here until October, so we are already looking for another au pair. It seems like we just found this au pair, so we are not excited to be looking yet again. But I do like to think that we are getting better at the search process.

There's a lot controversy surrounding the American au pair program. Sometimes I feel sick when I read about some of the abuses (by both host families and au pairs). If anything, I'd like to see more oversight in the programs so that everyone: host families, au pairs and AGENCIES have more accountability. This is much better than hacking out problems in the form of lawsuits seeking compensation for breaches in contract. I mean: wouldn't (almost) everyone like to see the terms of employment and visa requirements fairly enforced? Is anyone going to be reasonably compensated by the lawsuit process when all is said and done? Will a lawsuit affect the law, or just kill the program altogether? But then, I guess this is not the time in history for the reasonable minds and universal ideas of fairness - with regards to anything.