About Mara

Reviewed on 5/6/2024

She is the nanny that you have been looking for. That is all you need to know before I wax poetically about my family’s experience with her, including an explanation of why our lives will never be the same. That being said, I remember looking for a nanny and finding the process terrifying. I constantly asked myself, “how can we trust someone with our children? I just don’t know enough about anyone!” So, I trusted my wife, as I always do, and added my input as she scoured applications and websites until she found her! I offer this long recommendation for three reasons: (1) I would have found such a recommendation helpful; (2) I want to write these things; and (3) because She deserves it. She exceeded all of our expectations and quickly became part of our family. She will be missed. To understand how remarkable she is, you first need to understand the situation she was thrust into. While she agreed to nanny my boys, I am not sure she knew what she was getting into- none of us did. See, my boys were born over 2 months early and remained in the NICU for roughly 90 days. Upon discharge, the older boy, underwent surgery and had a feeding tube placed. This meant that he would need to be fed every 3 hours through a feeding tube and pump. The pump would need to be cleaned each time, food measured, and his younger brother, would also need to be fed. Complicating it all was the fact that my older son also had difficulty keeping his food down. She was unphased by the predicament. She quickly adapted to my son's needs, juggling feeds, naps, doctor’s appointments, and everything else that they needed. As you can imagine, her task was not easy. Nor were my tasks and the tasks of my wife. Holding together a family, working full-time in a demanding profession, and taking care of two amazing boys was a massive struggle; a struggle that we could not have made it through without her. On countless occasions, my wife would tell me, “I don’t know what we would do without her” and I would agree. Candidly, such confessions would often be late at night and unprompted, or at 3am when would be awake feeding the kids. The knowledge that she would be here for my sons in the morning would help us get through the roughest nights with the boys. Now, you should also know that just because my sons were in the NICU and one of them has a feeding tube, does not mean that they act any differently than any other child. They are just as needy (maybe more needy), rambunctious, full of energy and devious as any other boys of an equal age. This means that her hands were always more than full. Despite the enormous task, she tackled it in stride, always putting the kids first and always going the extra mile. She kept an eye out for the interests, likes and dislikes of my kids, constructing crafts and toys for them to play with and develop. She built forts, cooked them special food, sang them songs, danced with them and played games. She brought them for walks, played with them outside, gave them baths and provided them with patience and understanding. She held my sons when they needed hugs and taught them to be more self-reliant than my wife and I had the guts for (we are push overs). On more than one occasion, she reminded us that we were not alone- through her actions and her words. She reminded us that she was there for us, and that she was there for my sons. She put up with our dog, family members visiting, and two very nervous first-time parents (me and my wife). Undoubtedly, She will have read this letter prior to providing it to you, and I am sad to say that she likely did not know the extent of how my wife and I feel about her – until reading this. I do not believe we ever told her that she helped hold our family together when it was being stretched thin with countless medical appointments for the kids and late nights. To be honest, I am not sure she knew she was doing it, because it was just her being herself. She is selfless and hard-working, and I am honestly running out of appropriate adjectives! But lets try for some more… Over the last two years I have known her to be caring, kind, resourceful, and genuine. I have known her to be eager, motivated and conscientious. Most of all, I have known her to be family. I wish you could see how my boys light up when they see her. How they say her name when she come up the driveway and how they frown when she leaves. I believe that certain things happen for a reason. I believe that sometimes, when you are in the most need, life sends you answers. She was that answer, and I could not be more thankful for her being part of our lives.