I found a new babysitter/ respite worker. Happy clapping. See for your average family finding a sitter might be hard enough, but we are far from average. My little one has special needs. So it was never even remotely possible that we could hire the teenager next door. Or the granny across the road. My little one would chew her up and spit her out while laughing maniacally or raging and trying to tap dance on the stove. We had a wonderful student from university for a few years. She was fabulous and grew to love our daughter as if she were a little sister, or something like that. Then she went and got married. Recently. And while we are super happy for her, we are also sad for us because we lost a friend and a support. We wish her the best and miss her a lot. For months, I have been hunting. In July I placed an ad at the University of Western Ontario and a few calls trickled in, but nothing panned out. I have advertised many other ways with traditional media and social media and word of mouth. We had one person hired and she was totally unavailable every night I asked. So that didn’t work out. 🙁 In truth husband and I both forget what going out is. If I am out, it is at hospital with my Mom. So anyways this week we meet a new gal, training at the Kylee Patchel Evans group or foundation at the university. Studying neuroscience. Way overqualified. Of course with hiring a sitter/ respite worker for a child with special needs there comes a cost. It is impossible for me to hire someone to watch my child or help with my child at under $12 an hour. $14 to $15 is more common. Respite workers don’t come cheap. We hope she’s a keeper. Fingers crossed. Where do you find your babysitter? If your child has special needs, do you have help?