Mister Nick

When I first started making salsa, my kids were little. Like, they could not be left alone little and I certainly couldn't get much done with them around little. So, I needed a nanny. I was so scared putting an ad out there, for me, for my kids, and for whoever took the job. My kids had never had a babysitter before, so this was going to be a new experience for everyone. 

I put an ad out on the University job board. I got a lot of responses. Overwhelmingly female. But there was one dude in the mix. I had never even entertained the idea of a guy babysitter, but, to be fair, I wanted to give him a shot. I joked with Jim that he was probably a really weird, creepy guy who just wanted an excuse to be around kids. I couldn't have been more wrong. 

I set up an interview with him, (we will call him "Nick" because that is his name), at the mall. We met in center court, when it was still a play area for kids. He was adorable. Shorts, polo shirt, white Nikes. He looked like your typical college kid. Did he have any idea what he was getting into? Doubt it. 

Finley and Gibby were with me, so they both got to meet him, too. All three of us liked him. Finley will deny this, but methinks she doth protest too much. 

It was April of 2012 the first time Nick came to our house to hang with the kids. Jim and I went to play trivia at Happy Hollow. I bet I texted Nick 25 times in three hours checking in on him and the kids. And Nick answered every time. He was an instant hit. When is Nick coming back? We love Nick. Nick makes the best bacon. 

So, Nick was our nanny for the summer. He had to live in a hotel for 10 days between moving out of student housing and moving into his new place. He took the kids to the hotel every day so they could swim in the pool. 

It was a great summer for the kids.  

When Gibby contracted salmonella in the fall of 2012, he wanted Nick to come to the hospital. So, he did. 

When Gibby was having a CVS episode, and Emerson wasn't around, he wanted Nick. 

When summer was over, Nick stayed on as much as his school schedule allowed. The kids got so excited when he would come and watch them for date night. Sometimes he even spent a weekend so Jim and I could get away.

Even after he'd been with us for a year, I was still texting Nick a lot when he was with the kids. And he didn't mind. At least he didn't complain. To my face. Every day before I left the house, I would say, "Nick, you know I don't want the kids jumping around by the mantle." For all I know, he let them jump all over the damn mantle and was lucky enough that no one got hurt. But he always looked at me and smiled, often saying it right along with me, "Don't let the kids jump by the mantle. I got it." like he had never heard it before. 

As the spring of 2013 approached, we talked to Nick about nannying full-time again. He wanted to work for Chip Magnet. He said diversity would look better on his resume; little did he know he really wasn't gonna need that resume for anything:)

Nick took a job with Chip Magnet doing markets and deliveries. He worked his butt off all summer long. When fall rolled around, he stayed on. Once a sales position opened up, (more like, was created for him), he jumped at it. And that is where he is now. He is our Regional Sales Manager. Definitely an inflated, chest puffing, feather primping title. 

Nick has driven from Madison to Eau Claire and back down to Chicago in a day because a store needed three cases of salsa. He has road tripped and slept in his car to hand out samples to prospective new accounts. He has worked long days and driven all night to promote the business. Nick endured a week long road trip with Jim. Nick has heard 'no' many more times than he has heard 'yes'. Nick has done mountains and mountains of paperwork for new accounts. Nick has even picked us up when we had a little too much to drink. He has had to stop, mid-shift, in Iowa, to have his appendix removed because "don't worry about it, it's fine."

Like Paula, he has become part of the family. He walks into our house unannounced. When he's in Eau Claire for something and needs to go to the cities the next day, he stays with us. He celebrates birthdays with us. The dogs love him. The kids love him. We love him. 

Nick is just now getting back from a trip out west to gain stores in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. He's a selling machine. He does what it takes. And he never complains, at least not to my face. But more importantly, he is one of the most likable guys I know. He's the type of person that you meet and say, "I bet he gets along with everyone." And we are lucky enough to have him in both the Lucas family and the Chip Magnet family. How do we rate?

***edit*** I forgot to mention Nick's better half, Rachel. I can't say enough good about her. She is funny, sweet, and SUPPORTIVE, through the good and the bad. We loved her the minute we met her, although it did take Nick an awfully long time to introduce us. I wonder why :)