Ms. Susie

Nominated by Chelsea Richardson

Everyone relies on Ms. Susie – her friends, her children, her aging parents, and my entire family. She is not only the full-time care provider for my two boys, Chandler (5) and Caison (2), she has become an integral part of our family.
 
We were introduced to Ms. Susie in 2019 when Chandler started daycare and she was his toddler room lead. Over the next year, they formed a unique bond even as he began experiencing behavioral challenges. She was the one who spoke his language and genuinely loved him through the hard moments and hard days. When the pandemic hit in 2020, the daycare shut down, and my husband and I’s world was flipped upside down trying figure out each day. With a young child now at home (and one on the way), we were working around the clock in director-level positions in healthcare administration and product supply – industries heavily impacted by COVID. We were not in a position to forego childcare and spent the next nine months searching for committed and consistent care that could manage the challenges of our oldest and a newborn who arrived in Sept 2020. Some weeks we had a different person in our house every day, and some days we had multiple people in and out handing off care! Our neighbors helped, grandparents helped, and we often relied on random hired help. It was overwhelming.

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