Nanny Schmanny

It's days like today that I am thankful to have a blog that allows me to capture my thoughts and feelings.

I just got home from going to see an advanced movie screening of Nanny Diaries with Kate and a friend. I read the book a while back and was so looking forward to the movie. It was cute. Entertaining. Thought provoking. But I am sure for some - awkwardly convicting.

The screening was made possible through an Upper East Side mom group that I joined to meet other moms and to get involved in fun events such as this. So, as you can imagine, the theater was only moms with babies in tow, a bugaboo or three, and every new mom gadget imaginable. Then there were the expectant moms who have no idea what they are getting into. I was there just a few months ago. How funny is it that we are watching a movie making fun of Upper East Side moms and I'm in a theater where that is all there is. Hmmm.....

Without ruining anything for you, the movie is about a girl who becomes a nanny for a wealthy family on the Upper East Side and sees the good, bad, and ugly of a family led by parents who do anything but. There is a good message in there, but the depiction of reality in a family like that is mostly, well, just - ugly.

Interesting, isn't it; this concept of Nanny? What happened to babysitters who came to allow for date night and for an occasional event or break? It used to be that parents actually parented and mothers actually worked for that title and deserved it entirely. A touchy subject -eh? It's becoming a bit out of hand that the trendy way to parent is to hire someone else to do it for you, when you can actually afford to stay home.

This movie touches every nerve imaginable. As a mother who is on maternity leave -- evaluating whether or not to get a nanny and go back to work, to just have a "babysitter" for a few days a week, or to not work at all and just have a babysitter for a few hours a week to get a break...it was very telling for me. I still don't have an answer, but it gave some real pictures for me to consider before doing so.

So, I get out of the movie and my friend goes to the bathroom, while I patiently wait outside in the foyer. Three stereotypical Upper East Side moms walk over to me to inquire about my Ergo baby carrier (that Kate was snug as a bug in) and decided to talk about their husbands who work at firms similar to those depicted in the movie (uh...) and how their kids are home with the nanny right now and it is just wonderful. One of them has a live-in nanny, the other two "just" have one that comes 5 days a week. Their advice to me was that it is absolutely worth it to have "me" time at least 2-3 days a week. Ok, thank you. I was SO glad to leave that conversation. Wasn't interested in their advice really and I love how people assume you are. I really wanted to ask, " Did you just see the same movie that I did?"

On my 9 block walk home, I passed 6 nannies. Hmmm....

Oh, and the screening was sponsored by Cookie - my favorite "mom" magazine - by the way. In the giveaway bag was a magazine, of course, some Loreal baby bath soap, some Loreal Revitalift cream for the mom (nice!), and a giant large chocolate chip cookie - which I am eating as we speak. I'll leave it at that.