I’m Overworked and Exhausted, But I Can’t Quit – Fridays with Ferne: Episode #29

Have you ever wanted to leave, but were afraid of abandoning those you would have to leave behind?  

Valerie is in that exact predicament. She works as a nanny for a family with four children. She loves the children, she loves spending time with them and taking care of them, but she has a lot of trouble with the parents. The parents are incredibly demanding and excruciatingly specific. Everything Valerie does from cooking to cleaning to teaching the children has to be done in a very specific way, otherwise, it is done wrong.

Valerie works 12, 13, 14-hour days, but only gets paid for 8 hours a day. She puts in so much effort for this family, all while going to school part-time. She is tackling a lot, but the parents are far from grateful. Many people have told Valerie to quit, but growing up she knew what it felt like to be abandoned by a parent figure and couldn’t bring herself to do that to these children that she has come to love.  

I would say that it sounds like Valerie feels trapped, like there are no options for her. She won’t quit work and she won’t quit school, so this is how things must be. But I would push back on that idea. Can she not have both her job and school, but in a way that works better for her? If at some point during the day Valerie can stop her household duties to go to class, maybe it is possible for her to take an extra hour of classes, or rather leave the house one hour early each day. If Valerie can start with gaining one extra hour each day, she opens her doors to a lot more possibilities and can build up to where she wants to be.