Au Pair of the Year Nominee:
Serena - Australia
When we went through the process of selecting our new au pair to join the family in January 2008, we knew it would be a challenging year. We are a two-parent working family who then had three young children (aged almost 5, 2.5 and 2.5) and were expecting our fourth child in March, only a month and a half after our new au pair's arrival. We knew we needed someone of exceptional competence! When we found our au pair, we were pretty sure she met the bill, even though she was only eighteen years old when she arrived. But, she far exceeded our expectations.
In February 2008, only a few weeks after our new au pair's arrival, my mom became terminally ill with brain tumors, causing a great deal of additional upheaval in our lives. Because we were extremely close, I traveled to be with her for three separate weeks before she died on April 30, causing me to be away from the children for the first time in their lives, just before and after they acquired a new sibling. During this time of tremendous upheaval, we felt so blessed to have such a wonderful and competent au pair with our family. She literally 'hit the ground, running' and has continued to be an amazing caretaker and family member. We're so happy that she has decided to remain with our family for another 9 months.
Here are some of the qualities that make her so special: She is hearty and adaptable.
One of her references said about her, "I can't imagine this girl having a drama about anything," which is absolutely true. She is very steady, stable and adaptable. While I always expect some home-sickness, she has really made herself 'at-home' here with us and in her new city, seeking out fun activities and really enjoying her life here.
She is very sensible with a 'can-do' attitude. One of her amazing qualities, is that she doesn't wait for direction when she sees something that obviously needs doing. For example, when she saw that one of children's dresser needed fixing when she was putting things away, she got out a screw driver, above and beyond the call of duty! She will notice that the milk is about to run out and stop at the corner store on the way home with the baby, without prior instruction. She jumps right in and doesn't need direction on the basics of helping keep the house running. This is an amazing help for a family that is pretty stretched to the limits.
She is energetic and creative. Three year old twin boys need a lot of exercise and right away our au pair figured out fun, creative ways to get them engaged in such pursuits: climbing hills, going blackberry picking and heading out on various adventures. They sleep well at night after hanging out with her. She intuitively knows how to coax young children out of challenging moods and behaviors with distraction and kind firmness. This is a real skill and she is a natural!
She is level-headed, mature and unflappable. On the occasions when we need to leave her with four kids (during school vacations or evenings out), she is able to manage beautifully and still keep a smile on her face (and not let the household fall to pieces.) It is such a pleasure to come home to find them engaged with her and playing together, with our au pair looking like it was a piece of cake! We know well what an accomplishment this is!
She is positive, upbeat and fun. Our au pair is a terrific person who gets along with people easily and has made incorporating her into our busy, active family quite easy. We will surely miss her when she goes. She is truly exceptional!
