Whoa, Momma!

Sharon Kennedy Wynne, Tracey Henry and Suzannah DiMarzio

Is Fay fouling up your child care?



It used to never be a problem. A hurricane churned in the Gulf of Mexico. Hubby and I bought water, batteries and prepared to hunker down -- to work. He packed a bag in case he had to stay overnight in St. Petersburg.

That was BC -- Before Child. Now the thing that made me sweat the hardest wasn't whether our house would be blown away, but what would I do if my son's day care center closed?

Husband and I both work for Ma Times, and Ma says we work in the event of a storm. That's fine if you have Grandma around to come stay with your child while you camp out at the office.

We don't.

Both sets of parents live out of state. The in-laws are classic sandwich generation, caring for a set of aging parents. My parents are divorced and for whatever reason just don't visit often. One of us could take a vacation day, I suppose. But as a working parent who feels vulnerable anyway, combined with a sour economy, such a move feels like career suicide.

So instead of chilling out during my 2-year-old's naptime Sunday, I spent the Mom_franitcwoman afternoon frantically trying to line up a sitter. I was lucky. My second try answered her cell phone. Yes, she said, she'd be glad to do it. Her college classes don't start until next week.

Whew. Crisis averted. Life used to be so much simpler. I can remember when my biggest worry was that the power would go out and I'd have to survive a few days with no A/C.

Now the threat of no sitter causes more panic than a Category 5.

-- Lisa Buie, Times mom



Join the discussion: Click to view comments, add yours