The Summer Lay-Off

     Page Ninety-Four.
     Next week is the last week of school for the Shaker Heights schools. So, that means that next week will be my last week nannying the boys until the end of August. Though this will be my third summer working for them, it'll be my first one with a summer lay-off.
     For many years, the children, including the much older sister, went to a horsey day camp where they rode, swam, created arts & crafts and enjoyed other such summer camp activities. That camp was right on Lake Erie and had been owned by one family for a few generations with the current deed-holder a very old man whom everybody loved. Well, he died last winter and his children were fully intending on continuing the camp until they discovered that he'd taken out a reverse mortgage against it. I know nothing about reverse mortgages except for the fact that they don't have good reputations. In this case, the family lost the camp. And closer to home, the boys lost their beloved horseys.
     According to Mom, the boys are "getting older" anyhow, so it's just as well. Only the youngest, Fauntleroy, (aged 9 come July) was still enamored with days filled with horseys. The other two, Zok (13) and Billy-Bob-Joe (11), were beginning to stir, what with more varied and mature interests. Subsequently, Mom and Dad have spent the last few months finding sleep-a-way camps for all three.
     So, this boy will be going to this camp for this summer segment and that boy will be going to that camp for that summer segment and so forth. Plus the fact, the entire crew, except for Grandma, will be going to California for a couple of weeks in August, it only makes sense to lay Jeremy off for the summer.
     I understand. They were kind enough to offer a modest unemployment compensation; I have my second part-time job as a beauty salon manager; and many, many people know me and they know that I'll be available for any odd jobs, so I'll be fine. But I'll miss the boys... mostly.
     Fauntleroy has been really obnoxious lately and I think we need some time apart. He ADORES me, don't get me wrong. But he's going through a phase, and I'm sick of it. I've talked with Mom about it and she thinks I need to come down harder on him. Eight year-old boys are tough, though. They're walking a fine line between devoted little boys and independent young men. Therefore, I have chosen to give him a piece of my mind only a few times 'cause I don't want to run the risk of over-complaining. If I bitch too much then I loose credibility. So I pick and choose when I'm going to come down hard. There's something to the old saying, "pick your battles". I did tell Mom last week that he won't have me to "kick around" for ten weeks so I think he'll appreciate me more come next fall. And if he isn't less of a snot, well... I have ways of dealing with that too. Don't forget, I was a live-in nanny to three teen-aged boys for eight years. I have lots of tricks up my sleeve.
     And this isn't to say that I won't see them at all this summer. I'm still preparing my cooking instructional videos and occasionally I film in their kitchen. I anticipate making a few new videos this summer so I'll probably run into the family occasionally, in their home. (I currently have twelve videos completed with two more in post-production. One of these days I'll start posting them to Youtube. Perhaps that might be a nice summer project.)