Have I written about my campaign to get our house painted? Probably not because while on-going it was not a pretty topic. The old paint on my rented duplex was chipping down to old layers of paint and bare wood, spreading lead dust about. I know, I had it tested. After a year of conversation with my landlords, I had to play hardball and threaten to call the housing inspector. "If you don't like the house you can move" was his reply. I was all rage and shaken after that call. But lo and behold, he send house painters within the month.
The house was inconveniently painted during the first week with Brenda, our babysitter, starting to care for Joaquin at the house. Brenda plus her daughter Sophia, and Joaquin has to be sent over to a friends house for the first week of scraping and sanding. But the house was repainted a fresh white with blue trim. And I decided to bury the hatchet with my landlords and even sent them a thank you note.
Joaquin always gets in the car with Sophia. She gracefully tolerates.
Brenda is a fantastic child care provider. She was a school teacher in Guatemala. I am thankful to have her in my life.
I have worried that Joaquin has been exposed to lead paint chips and dust. I did what I could to minimize exposure contact in the days before the house was painted. We became a no shoes house to keep from tracking paint chips in. And I painted the doors and thresholds to the house since that, and window frames is where the majority of the contamination comes from. I have intended to get Joaquin a blood test for lead levels.
But now I feel that is perhaps all moot, and my precautions were suffice. Because Joaquin is developing at such a rapid pace. He is adding new words at an early age. He uses sign language more than most babies I know. He is singing tunes and climbing shelves. If I say so myself, he is one smart little cookie. Somehow this surprises me.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment