When John and I were house hunting fifteen years ago, we weren't looking for a house with a mother-in-law apartment downstairs. Heck, we had always been the renter, not the landlord. But we fell in love with this house, and the possible extra rent was a selling point. We had no idea Sally would become such an important part of our lives.

We had tenant X for the first couple years. But when Rose was three months old, tenant X left, and we were scrambling to fill the space. Along came Sally.

Sally was the babysitter for friends of ours, slightly younger than us, and eager to leave her group house. We signed a one year contract that guaranteed her a low rent, a certain number of babysitting hours and us basically a live in babysitter.

Rose almost blew the whole deal. Sally would strap her into the bjorn or put her in the stroller, but the minute Rose realized it was Sally and not me, she'd start screaming and screaming and screaming. Luckily, Sally is the queen of equanimity as well as having a great sense of humor. She just laughed at Rose.

It is not easy to live under toddlers. I really don't how she slept through the years of bouncing balls, pounding feet. And then there's the fact the basement flooded three times (seems to be in control now), the rats (seems to be in control now), and the lack of privacy with the kids rushing to greet her every time they hear the back door squeak open.

On the flip side, the kids adore her, ADORE, and it's not just because she lets them play on her phone. She's a great listener, hilarious, willing to play crazy games, good at dispelling Rose's worries, and just the nicest person in the world. I love talking to her about her work, travels, my inability to stay out late, how to make gluten free Chex mix, or whatever. She has lived here thirteen years, and we adore her too.

Sally is moving out tomorrow. Full disclosure, we asked her to move. We had always planned to expand into the basement; we just didn't know we'd have to lose Sally to do so. Luckily, she's renting a house down the street. We had her babysit last night even though the kids really can handle things on their own. But, they have much more fun with Sally.