This WASN’T a surprise, people

Hmmm… Katie started full-time almost two weeks ago, and already there is trouble.

Katie’s parents have decided, less than two full weeks into the new contract, that they are having trouble managing my closing time, revised a year ago. They want to know if they can pick her up fifteen minutes later, my old closing time. I am unwilling. Will they pull Katie from my care? It’s possible.

I’m exasperated, because I carefully made a point of reminding them of the new closing time when we discussed the new contract, several weeks ago. I then sent the contract home with them, so that they could read it carefully. When mom asked on Friday about the possibility of a later pick-up, I reminded her that I’d pointed the time change out well in advance. “It was in the contract, and I made sure you’d seen it. If you had a problem with it, I expected you to tell me then, before you signed the contract.”

“Well, yes,” says mom, “but we didn’t know it was going to be a problem.” Hello? They were both already working. They had a gramma at home caring for Katie much of the time then, a gramma who was staying with them and gave them lots of nice flexibility. Surely they had opportunity over those two months with gramma to figure out when they could get home of an evening.

I further think that after not quite two weeks of care, they haven’t really tried to make this new time work. It seems that getting me to change is their first choice of solution. I’d like them to try other things first.

Mom and I had the conversation Friday evening. At that point, though I expressed reluctance, I said, “Let me think on it.” Today Katie’s home, no reason given, and I’m wondering: are they looking for alternate care? I moved my closing time back 15 minutes a full year ago, but because Katie came so intermittently, I allowed this family to stick to the old time. Even though he knew he was coming later than everyone else, dad would still arrive at the very last second before late fees kicked in. I’d look out my front window and see his big truck parked out there, him on the cell or the Blackberry. This man works at his desk, he works in his car, he works from home. Since he’s working on the way home, anyway, I can’t imagine that leaving his desk fifteen minutes earlier will make any real difference to his day. Besides, I’ve already cut them a year’s slack. I will do so no more. If this means they walk, so be it.

And maybe my next family won’t push, push, push the pick-up time to the very last second. That would be nice!