I’ve referenced our nanny in previous posts. She means so very much to us. She is my friend, my confidant. She sees my flaws and loves me anyway. She is my boys’ teacher, protector, adventure buddy, best friend. She is a calming force to my husband when I stress and she provides gentle reassurance that we can get it all done, because we are a team. In short…she is A-mazing. The best of the best. The bomb.com.
As I’m typing this I realize that I have not yet crafted a post to sing her praises. I’m also aware that she is going to read this and get uncomfortable. Her humility will create that reaction. You guys…she is more than a nanny. She is family.
When we first met Victoria, “TeeTee”, she was Bishop’s classroom teacher at daycare. Our Bishop gave her all his affection. It was clear the admiration was mutual and our little love bug had won her heart, too. We soon discovered the connections our family shared were vast. Like crazy connections that only God could have put together. As we got to know each other more and more we learned that Andrew’s Dad was the DJ for her wedding, that she grew up in the same hometown in Maine as my very best friend and their families knew each other, and that her Dad and my father in law have known each other for years as poker buddies. You can’t make this stuff up! The synergy was strong. Lives intertwined and destined to come together.
We asked Victoria to babysit for us for the weekend Andrew’s brother got married and literally began making plans for her to be a part of our family’s day to day. We worked through a transition period and in less than 2 months she was officially hired on as our nanny.
To say that she has met, nope, EXCEEDED our expectations would be the understatement of our lifetime. She is a gift, sent from above. Each day she enters our home with a loving disposition. A calmness. A gentle grace. A fiery adventurous spirit. And a refreshing honesty that sees us as we are- in all our humanness. Each day we’re grateful to God that He has brought us together and that we have someone as wonderful as she to be entrusted with the care of to our three boys.
Over the last year and a half with Victoria as our nanny there have been countless moments that will forever be photographs in my mind. Other than Andrew and I, TeeTee is the only caregiver Benny has ever known. She was there with us to celebrate his first foods, first words, and first steps. She’s joined us for Ethan’s chorus concerts and cheered on her favorite little leaguer from the sidelines. She helped Bishop to master potty training, guided him through creative daily curriculum, and spontaneously adventured with him through what has been a time in which he has thrived.
This week, she bravely took a step to share that she would be leaving our nest to nurture her own baby birds. Victoria and her husband, Logan, have been going through the process of becoming foster parents and the time has come that they are nearly ready to open their home and their hearts to love on more children than our boys; children in far greater need than my own. And so the decision has been made for TeeTee to step away from nannyhood and enter the realm of motherhood. In June, she will no longer hold the title of Nanny TeeTee. But instead, pick up her greater calling- that of a mother.
To mother is a verb. It means to bring up with care and affection. Victoria has helped mother my boys. She’s made me a better mom for them but easing the pressures and stressors of life and homemaking. She’s allowed me to pour from a full cup at the end of a long day and she’s loved all of us with her whole heart.
We will miss having her employed by our family. But we won’t miss her…those bonds can’t be broken and this is only just the beginning. To know that the Greatest Author is crafting for her and Logan their next chapter brings us peace. You see, He writes our story, too. She came to us through Him, for that season. And the next season is just beginning. Big things ahead for the Heath’s in this next chapter. All of which include TeeTee.
HEATHFAMILYEXPERIENCE 