Great News

When we came to Bangalore we initially had some issues with managing time with car and driver.  I eventually happened upon a friend who's F/T driver was only able to work part time due to Kidney failure and the need for Dialysis.

I was VERY lucky to be paired with him as I was in need of a flexible Part time driver.  He has turned out to be a very experienced and calm driver who is one of the sweetest, gentle, kindhearted people who is very good with our small children.  His daughter also filled our need for a part time nanny and babysitter, coming after school weekdays and evening babysitting.  Which can be very hard to find unless you hire a full time Live in Nanny.  Our children love both of them like family, as do we.

We have just found out that his need for a kidney transplant has been filled and we will be losing him for a few months as he goes through the transplant process.

The story of how he came to have kidney failure is a sad one, and unfortunately all too common here in India.  He was poisoned by a family member for monetary reasons.

Many of us could not imagine what it is to have kidney failure and the daily ramifications of dealing with it.

The only thing to figure out is where the money for costs will come from for this procedure.  I am sure that God will provide.

I will post on progress
Sherri

Musings

I was struck today by the existence of a 'gust of wind' that lasted all of about 20 seconds.  I am now musing about the lack of wind here in Bangalore, and how different that is from our home in Canada....and wind just tends to be a little annoying when you have long hair.

I never really made note to myself about the absence of blowing wind here.

Just a random thought I had to share
Sherri 

What to convey to your staff

One thing that we the average family from Canada is not used to is having house staff.  How do you deal with house staff?  This has been a battle for me.  Here are a couple of pointers that you might not consider:

1. Explain with great emphasis that they are not to 'medicate' your children under any circumstance - especially if your children are young.

2. Keep all Medications in an inaccessible place for your housestaff.

3. Explain that you and your children can get very sick if you drink plain tap water, so your water bottles are to be filled with filtered water only.

We spent the first 8 weeks of our stay here ill until I caught our housekeeper filling our water bottles with tap water.  NICE!

I won't even comment on the very recent medication experience, but lets just say that it is imperative that this is discussed!

So am I an old hand at this?  I'm really not sure yet.
Until next time
Sherri