Just a Vent.........

[bright sparks]

I hear ya. It is rude, flat out no excuse for no thank you on their last day. I like cards, and gifts, but it is not fair for me to expect that of others. I'd rather a heartfelt conversation showing their gratitude at the door rather than something that was bought for me out of obligation or just because that's social practice of gratitude....materia listic BS if you ask me. If I am disappointed for no card or present that's on me. I shouldn't expect anything of another person when it comes to a card or a gift. No expectation, no disappointment. It's the total lack of respect and acknowledgement that narks me off. Words cost nothing yet can have such a huge impact. So the lack of any kind of acknowledgement of gratitude stings a little when we have gone above and beyond.

I just had a boy leave when his mom went on mat leave after being with me a year. He had loads of issues with sleeping at home and a major dairy intolerance. Mom asked me constantly for advice which I gave and she never took it but continued to moan. I see this as part of my job though and I did set boundaries and stop giving advice which eventually worked in her stopping moaning because she got no attention from me. I was not going above and beyond my job that she was paying for. As a caregiver my job is to support the parent and vice versa. It is in the child's best interest. Everything was done during regular business hours regardless of whether or not she followed up on it. She didn't owe me anything. Why should she spend money on me for a card and a gift? She shouldn't, she paid for her service and she got just that. A card and a gift would have been lovely, but that's my train of thought and in no way something she should do. Her lack of thank you on the last day felt like a slap in the face because in the absence of gratitude it makes me feel like she took me for granted and what I did, but at the end of the day, we can't control others, only ourselves and our responses to others. I didn't dwell on it and get all annoyed because at the end of the day it's only going to annoy me, not anyone else, and I have way bigger things more deserving of my attention to bother with than this kind of thing. Maybe it just comes with time and experience to, I don't know. I try to let it go, so I don't set myself up for future disappointments and paint everyone else with the same brush. One of my pet hates is bad manners and that's what irritates me more than anything, but people like that aren't worth my attention, so whatever.