2002-08-21 - 7:57 p.m.

I think that this is the nanny-havingest city in the world. I've been thinking about this for a while now, and haven't written about it since I do not have children of my own. It is very easy, much like the vows of marriage or the fact that I wanted to be a lawyer when I was little, to make grand proclamations of HOW IT'S GOING TO BE, when it's just a theory to you. I myself could not imagine having a live in nanny, but that's just me.

However, I can't help but be horrified at some of what I see. I don't know if these mothers work or not. What I do know, is that when you are the parent of ONE small child, and you are on an outing to the zoo with said child and his nanny, it is just not right to turn to that nanny and say, "Did you bring his lunch?" I mean, really. What are you, just along for the ride? Are you spending quality time with your child, who is being taken to the bathroom and fed lunch and chased after and pushed in his stroller by the nanny? Or are you just checking off "quality parent time at educational venue" on your mental to do list? I watch women sit on benches at the park, drinking bottled water and looking around distractedly while their (usually immigrant) nannies push their children on the swings and catch them at the end of the slide. I will never understand this.

And a few more things: I am leaving for Vegas in three days, and am debating leaving my laptop at home. I won't need it for work, and I really don't want to lug anything unneccesarily. On the other hand, when I travel for any length of time, I find it soothing to post here at the end of the day.

I have also officially decided that I HATE having an elevator man. Hate it. It just doesn't feel like MY HOUSE, if you know what I mean. I'm used to going down the stairs and bounding out the door, my own door, all alone, and running to the deli for milk for my coffee. Here I have to wait for the elevator man to get me, make small talk, have him hold open the door, and then repeat it all backwards when I come back, all of 3 minutes later. It sucks.

And I better start getting it together in the next two days.

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