Carol,

Document your grace in the situation and her abuses of it, and start 
looking for replacement :). You don't need the added stress to your life. 
Pray how God would have you dissolve the situation and follow his lead and 
you'll be alright.

Brad



At 09:55 AM 8/18/2007, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>I'm just writing to share a little bit of what's happening here and why 
>the stress lines have been rising in the last few days.  I need you to 
>pray now because things are moving on and, frankly, I think this lady may 
>have to be out of my life sooner rather than later!
>
>I am privileged to have some help with daily tasks that I cannot do for 
>myself and the hours that I am given (in terms of money to pay for such 
>help) are generous.  In fact, for the first time in my life, I can 
>sometimes get out and really enjoy myself and not just stick to the urgent 
>jobs that must be done the next time I get some sighted help!  Anyway, I 
>employed two ladies for a few hours each week to help me with this earlier 
>on this year. For one, who has three children, it has been a joy and no 
>problem to keep her children well cared for while she is with me on a 
>regular basis.  For the other, who has a daughter of seven, it has been a 
>real problem, not just for me but for both of us and is becoming a bit of 
>a nightmare for me. Basically, this particular lady is not only needing to 
>look after her daughter but is wanting all that she wants in life as well, 
>and that includes squash games and trips to the gym which must fit my 
>schedule. Well, I worked really hard with her in the months before the 
>Summer break, as I had discovered that she was taking time out to care for 
>her daughter and not finding an alternative.  I made a slight alteration 
>to the contract she had to sign, agreeing some flexibility in the Summer, 
>but she has taken me rather for granted and not given anywhere near the 
>time she should and she has persistently requested a start or end time to 
>fit around her life. Well, the other person who works for me is sick 
>following surgery and I'm left with no help.  Having worked through the 
>hours that this lady has taken from me, I have firmly concluded that this 
>has to stop.  She does have a father for the young girl and they live 
>together, supposedly, as a happy family;  and she has his sister with whom 
>she apparently gets on extremely well.  In addition there's an older son 
>by Dad's first marriage and he comes over sometimes to be with them and 
>look after the little girl when it suits them.  OK, so she is not totally 
>without help, though perhaps she needs more.  The problem is that she's 
>not taking up that help, or possibly not even asking for it, because she 
>wants to be home when she wants to be home with her daughter and to still 
>keep a job, on her terms.
>
>Over the past few days I have made alteration to her contract to make it 
>absolutely clear what she can and cannot do if she wishes to continue to 
>be employed by me.  I have endeavoured to be fair and caring over the past 
>many months and have given, as I say, in excess of 15 hours, plus a week's 
>paid holiday whilst I was away and she has taken two weeks' off.  Now, 
>when you only employ a couple of people, that gets difficult and totally 
>unworkable, especially as the job is to meet my needs (much more than my 
>wants) and includes many things that I cannot manage myself.  Anyway, I 
>had to call her today because the other person will not be able to come in 
>this week and she said, "Well, I'll try to make one day," when I am 
>supposed to have hours on four different days by the two ladies and they 
>know I hope they will cover, at least to some extent, for one another's 
>sickness and holiday.  I have indicated that I need some firm answer from 
>her in the next day or so and also that I would like her to take a look at 
>the new contract over the next few days and sign this before she goes off 
>on holiday.  (She's away for about eleven days).  I think it is very 
>likely that she will not want to sign the contract and/or that it could 
>get a bit difficult all round.  (I learned through a round about route 
>after employing her and not receiving a reference that she took her only 
>other employer to Court some years ago and lost the case because she 
>clearly wanted to work her own hours and he needed full-time 
>employment.  It seems she is still acting in the same manner.)
>
>Anyway, I've probably given you ample to know what's going on and I just 
>ask for wisdom and that God will continue to help me in all my dealings 
>with her.
>
>--
>Carol
>
>-- Lies imprison; truth frees. The Son frees indeed as the light of His 
>truth shines in the darkness of our lies. Jesus knows the geography of our 
>souls,
>the origin of our lies, the whole path to deliverance and freedom. --
>Dwight A. Clough, Discoveries mailing list
>http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries