(reproduced) Love between employers and nannies

If my mother's diabetes complications in the past six months had exhausted my father to the point of collapse, I would never have hired a nanny.

Dad called that night and said that he would take one home the next day anyway. Before that, he ran to several domestic companies, either because he didn't like the nanny or because his salary was too high. Once, I finally negotiated with a Shandong nanny. As a result, the manager of the housekeeping company came forward and suddenly "popped up" to give the nanny more 2 yuan on the basis of the original salary every month. As a result, it ended in discord. Since dad made up his mind this time, he must get his wish, so he entrusted his husband and sister to accompany dad to catch up early and make more trips, so he must get this done. Until I got off work, I finally got the phone call I expected. I didn't participate in this matter, mainly because I knew dad's personality too well. I was a diplomat before I retired and worked abroad for many years. A typical Shandong person can do everything in life, and often intervenes before others have done half of it. A few years ago, when he was hospitalized with stomach bleeding, his mother was too old and weak to be accompanied by the hospital, so he had to use his relatives at home to work in shifts during the day and at night, until the son of the aunt in the dormitory reception room had a college holiday, and his father agreed to let him accompany him. The reason is that the young man is good-natured, simple and educated, and both of them have the same language. Even if he pays more, he will be subsidizing poor college students. You see, the old man's requirements are not low, are they?

Xiao Xie is the nanny that my sister and I agreed to go to the housekeeping company after working for my father for half a year. On the rest day, I went back to my mother's house and suspected that I had gone to the wrong door. In the living room, the coffee table in front of the sofa turned into a beige dining table for eight people, and the dining chairs with the same color quietly hid under the table. The table top was covered with decorative cloth dotted with red cherries on a white background, and the cloth was also covered with a transparent placemat. The sun shone warmly and softly through the screen window on the green plants in the sunny basin and the small cherries dripping with water on the tablecloth. With a curious heart, I turned around and walked past the white Duobaoge partition. In front of me, the small dining room turned into a quiet leisure area, and a fabric sofa was placed against the wall. The pale yellow sofa cover was equipped with pink, yellow, rose and grass green freehand flowers. In the autumn wind, the flowers and leaves withered, but this small pattern was full of spring flowers and vitality. Suddenly, why didn't you notice the congestion in the center of the living room dining table just now? The original repeated sofa and coffee table opened up another landscape here. I leaned over and sat in the soft sofa, and the Chinese painting of the song of the moon was greeted by a painter friend on the front wall. How can different people feel and imagine sitting in this comfortable space out of the sun and away from the noise? In the past six months, my mother was sometimes weak, sometimes confused, and sometimes hospitalized. My sister and I both had our own careers and small families. Every time we went back to our parents' home, we didn't have the idea of beautifying the room, and we didn't realize the warmth of the past for a long time. "Is the dream rain coming? Come to my house. " Mom's voice pulled me back from my thoughts, got up and walked into her room. Mom is sitting in a wheelchair, her face is pink than a week ago, and her eyes are bright. The room of only 12 square meters seems to be much brighter and more spacious than before. Looking at it carefully, I found that half of the clothes on the bed were gone, and a set of bedding with a little brown stripes on a white background was covered. The daily sundries on the bedside table also disappeared, only a thermos cup and an old-age digest. On the windowsill opposite the door, the dark green orchids in two blue and white porcelain pots match and lean against each other. The sun shines on the playful cat with gray fur in the picture frame on the wall. It is hanging its head and playing hide-and-seek with the snail walking in the crevice. After exchanging pleasantries with my mother, I "visited" the other two rooms. Dad's room is still the same, but the books and newspapers on the bed used to be a lot more regular. The empty room has changed from a cluttered "warehouse" to Xiao Xie's bedroom, clean and tidy, with cups, pens and notebooks on the white desk. Surprise these changes at the same time, I can't help but feel deep remorse. I always take work as the reason on weekdays, but I ignore the beautification and emotional care of my parents' rooms.

When I turned back to the living room, Xiao Xie, our "beautician", also came out of the kitchen. Dad introduced us. I had a little understanding before: about 4 years old, from Shaanxi, less than two weeks after coming to Beijing, I opened a small restaurant at home, worked as a fruit merchant, and used to open a karaoke bar. My two sons worked in the south. Looking at her slightly rough but healthy and simple face with a smile, I expressed my heartfelt thanks. "Let's make this our home in the future!" She nodded slightly: "You sit down and talk. There's just stewed chicken soup in the pot. I'll give it to Sister Qu." "Oh, no, I'm here to pick you up and go out to eat roast duck." She still turned and went into the kitchen. By this time, Mom had left the wheelchair and came out slowly to put on her coat. Obviously, she had some strength. Dad went to the kitchen to call Xiao Xie. During the dinner, I couldn't help praising Xiao Xie sitting next to me again. Dad also smiled and said to her, "You will be the third child in our family in the future." In this way, eating and laughing, I have long been unaware of the cool autumn outside.

Two weeks later, at noon, my father called and said that it was beginning of winter. My husband and I were invited to Donglaishun for hotpot. What delicious food can compare with the steaming hot pot of mutton this season? Coming to the nearest branch with a cheerful mood, Xiao Xie wore a red sweater and welcomed us into the reserved private room in front of the classical old Beijing building. My parents were already seated, but my heart suddenly tightened: Dad was still sitting in the front seat facing the door, but Mom didn't follow the old rules and sat across an empty seat on Dad's left. As long as I can remember, they have always been sitting next to each other in the restaurant, and my sister and I are on both sides, but today. . . ? Mom asked me to sit in the empty seat on dad's left, but I was used to being next to my husband, always transferring food I didn't like or couldn't eat to his plate. "Mom," I just opened my mouth and wanted her to sit next to Dad, but I saw Xiao Xie unceremoniously sitting between them. Suddenly, my heart smoked: Why are you so rude? Are you stupid or are you trying to take mom's place? The 4-year-old rule was actually broken by "outsiders" who entered the house but did not have a full moon. I couldn't help but look at my husband, and the joy on his face just now suddenly disappeared. Look at my dad who has attended countless diplomatic banquets, but it seems that nothing has happened. I have to swallow my saliva and sit down, pretending to turn a blind eye. Dad put me in charge of ordering food. Looking at the tempting menu, I gradually put out the fire. While we were discussing with the attendant around us, we suddenly heard the noise of Mom and Xiao Xie from the opposite side. We turned our eyes and saw that Mom had lost her normal state. That rare anger made me guess that she must have been fed up with kindness and tolerance. "What's the matter?" My face fell and I asked. Mom seemed to forget that this was a public occasion, but she still raised her voice. "I asked her to do something, but she said that she only listened to your father." Before retirement, a doctor with status and a diplomat's wife in international communication unexpectedly humiliated a respectable family in front of the waiter. I was noncommittal, forcing myself to look at the poor, old and angry face and ordered, "Mom, don't say anything yet." Then I made a downward gesture. In this world, only my mother listens to me the most, no matter what I say, right or wrong. A quarrel subsided, but I lost my appetite when I watched the perfect fresh mutton slices being served one after another, and I didn't want to look at the "healthy" and "simple" face that made me doubt. Although my father sometimes gets impatient with his mother who is premature aging at the same age, this kind of speaking tone is now "passed down" by the nanny at home, and I really can't think about it in front of outsiders without caring about the dignity of the hostess. After the meal, out of the room, Xiao Xie helped mom, I followed. When I got to the stairs, my mother went to the men's bathroom without looking at the sign clearly. Xiao Xie let go, stopped and said to the short arched back, "No, it's not there, it's here." Mom slowly turned around, went up two steps and pushed open the door of the ladies' room. I crossed Xiao Xie and followed. "Now when I get together, I feel my legs are soft, and sometimes I feel dizzy." I really couldn't listen to it anymore, so I turned around and went out to invite the nanny who was too satisfied to move a step.

In the next few days, when I thought that Dad went to the park every morning and didn't come back until lunch, I felt uneasy and finally asked for leave. Xiao Xie opened the door, and Mom was sitting on a hard chair near the dining table, leaning against the TV. I bought hot Guilin rice noodles that Mom likes to eat and brought them to her. I asked her what she ate in the morning, what time did Dad go out, what her sister was busy with recently, and Xiao Xie was always sitting in the middle of the soft sofa, staring at the romantic drama. I was really "dizzy". Probably Xiao Xie felt my indifference to her and finally got up: "You talk, I went to buy food." I answered, and began to notice the warm sunshine on my mother. "How, can't just change one? Is she deliberately creating opportunities and not wanting to do it? " "It's okay, she is willing to in our house, make do. With her around, your dad can go to the park without worrying about coming back to make lunch for me. Besides, it's not easy for your dad to teach everything from the beginning. If you change it, I'm afraid you have to do it again. As long as your father is happy and healthy, it is my blessing. " Mom didn't want to talk about Xiao Xie again, and turned to other topics. The calm tone and quiet expression make me feel that the weak body contains deep love and infinite strength.

When I think about it, Xiao Xie is far away from her hometown. In order to save money for her two sons to get married, there may be something else to hide. Even the November and Mid-Autumn Festival didn't take a day off. Although she first proposed it, she was alone, and it was dead of night. What woman never missed her hometown in the starry sky? What woman doesn't care about the flesh and blood in the hometown of Hakka? How does that bitterness and expectation find a balance between tenderness and perseverance?

During the holiday, my sister drove her parents and Xiao Xie to visit Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven and the Bird's Nest, and tasted old Beijing and Zhajiang Noodles. On the eve of winter, I sent Xiao Xie some winter clothes and hand cream. Gradually, my parents' health and cheerfulness came from the phone.

Now, the sunshine sprinkled on the bedroom has dispelled the winter chill and ushered in another cycle of spring.