Touched by a Nanny named Becky Kavanagh

Submitted by Karen Yatsko

One of the very first nannies I ever met was Becky Kavanagh and I was very lucky! She took me under her lovely feathered wing and kept an eye on me my very first nanny conference.  I will never forget her compassion, laughter and friendliness to a newcomer.  Since then our friendship has been a constant source of fun!  You cannot mention Becky’s name and not think of the word fun!  Attending one of her presentations at an INA Conference, I have the fondest memory of her asking everyone to remove their shoes and have fun!!  I was always sitting in the front row whenever Becky presented something as you might be singing and dancing barefoot.

One year I had the pleasure of going to visit Becky on her home turf and stay at her employer’s house.  I fondly remember meeting some of the children and got to peer inside Becky’s world as a nanny.  She really is a smooth and constant beacon of love - from the ups and downs of helping raise many children through her employers divorce, Becky had my admiration.  I never once heard Becky complain or have a bad day - her positivity had such an impact on me!  To this day, I try to always be positive because of her!! 

I also had many INA adventures with Becky!  We traveled to the NAEYC one year in Toronto to give a presentation on “Nannies as a Career Choice” representing the INA.  One Conference, Becky brought her sister and she fit right in with the nanny crowd!   Becky and I were both were nominated for Parent’s Magazine Caregiver of the Year Award, which Becky won!!  We both have served on the Board of the INA, and I remember Becky’s calm demeanor at many discussions and her personable tact with people.

We may be old friends, but I will never be tired of her smile and genuine love for nannies!

Touched by a Nanny named Deirdre Bellows

Touched by a Nanny named Deirdre
Submitted by Glenda Propst

I have been in the nanny industry for many years. When I was younger I never felt out of place or uncomfortable at any conference I attended.
As my charges grew into young adults, I was always happy to share photos of them with my nanny friends as we sat around catching up and chatting. When they were young, everyone thought that they were adorable (because aren’t all babies adorable?) but as my charges grew up there were times when people simply did not know what to say to me, or how to respond.
It usually made me feel a little awkward.
As one of the older nannies when you spend as many years with a family as I have, you lose a lot of the common ground with younger nannies. It isn’t that they are mean or rude, it’s just different.
A few years ago, I was a conference and I was feeling very “out of place”
I had been in the hotel lobby and I had decided to walk up to my room and just order room service and nap, when someone walked up to me, was so happy to see me, and asked if I had lunch yet?
I said “No” she said “Would you like to have lunch with me?”
This was someone I knew but not someone I knew well. We walked across the street and had a wonderful lunch, laughing and talking and discovering how much we had in common.
At the end of lunch, when it was time to pay the bill, she said “I would like to treat you”
It was the highlight of my trip and it was also the beginning of a wonderful long distance friendship.

I was touched by a nanny named Deirdre Bellows . I know she didn’t know how much her gesture or reaching out meant to me, but it meant so much and I thought she should know.