the sleeping incident
Obviously there’s been some tension between me and the woman. Everyone told me from the beginning to be patient with her, because nobody would do things exactly as I would do them, and the buka wouldn’t be the same with anyone else as she was with me. I understood all that. I was prepared for it.
When the buka cried, I told the woman, let her cry. She’ll calm herself down when she’s ready. Don’t overwhelm her with rattly toys or too much attention. She might need to close her eyes or doze off a little. Let her do that, but in general, I don’t want her sleeping in the afternoon. She has to get tired so she can sleep well at night.
The woman had her own ideas, one of which apparently included putting the buka in her stroller, wheeling her to the bedroom in the furthest corner of the house, and leaving her alone there in the dark, with the door closed, and the cat inside. This happened one day last week. She had parked the stroller directly beside the bed where Paschalis was sleeping. It wouldn’t have required much imagination or effort on his part to jump right in with the buka. She’s nice and warm and great for snuggling. The cat is no dummy. The woman, meanwhile, snuggled herself down into the couch, in the living room, on the opposite side of the house, lights off, blanket on, TV softly flickering with afternoon talk shows.
When I finished my lesson, this is how I found things: the woman was fast asleep on the couch (I tried talking to her, no reaction) and the buka was wide awake in the stroller, alone (thank you very much, cat). I took the buka with me and just let the woman wake up on her own, to see how she would handle things.
So you’ve got the baby? she asked, half an hour later. Well, somebody has to, I said. I told her it was really dangerous to leave the buka alone where nobody could hear her, especially with the cat there. Oh, now I have to watch the cat? she said. No, I said, your job is to watch the BABY and not sleep on the couch. It was the first time, she assured me. Maybe it was, and everybody makes mistakes. But what she did with the baby was a serious mistake in judgment, and what she did with herself -- snuggle down in the couch and then get surprised when she falls asleep -- was just plain stupid. And after talking about all this for ten minutes or so, I told her, what made the biggest impression on me was that she didn’t even apologize.
Oh, a thousand sorries, she said. It was… what’s it called… a pity.
I couldn’t agree more. And a new woman starts this week.
When the buka cried, I told the woman, let her cry. She’ll calm herself down when she’s ready. Don’t overwhelm her with rattly toys or too much attention. She might need to close her eyes or doze off a little. Let her do that, but in general, I don’t want her sleeping in the afternoon. She has to get tired so she can sleep well at night.
The woman had her own ideas, one of which apparently included putting the buka in her stroller, wheeling her to the bedroom in the furthest corner of the house, and leaving her alone there in the dark, with the door closed, and the cat inside. This happened one day last week. She had parked the stroller directly beside the bed where Paschalis was sleeping. It wouldn’t have required much imagination or effort on his part to jump right in with the buka. She’s nice and warm and great for snuggling. The cat is no dummy. The woman, meanwhile, snuggled herself down into the couch, in the living room, on the opposite side of the house, lights off, blanket on, TV softly flickering with afternoon talk shows.
When I finished my lesson, this is how I found things: the woman was fast asleep on the couch (I tried talking to her, no reaction) and the buka was wide awake in the stroller, alone (thank you very much, cat). I took the buka with me and just let the woman wake up on her own, to see how she would handle things.
So you’ve got the baby? she asked, half an hour later. Well, somebody has to, I said. I told her it was really dangerous to leave the buka alone where nobody could hear her, especially with the cat there. Oh, now I have to watch the cat? she said. No, I said, your job is to watch the BABY and not sleep on the couch. It was the first time, she assured me. Maybe it was, and everybody makes mistakes. But what she did with the baby was a serious mistake in judgment, and what she did with herself -- snuggle down in the couch and then get surprised when she falls asleep -- was just plain stupid. And after talking about all this for ten minutes or so, I told her, what made the biggest impression on me was that she didn’t even apologize.
Oh, a thousand sorries, she said. It was… what’s it called… a pity.
I couldn’t agree more. And a new woman starts this week.
posted by soap at
9:00 AM
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