Several years ago my husband and I retired from our respective professions and–like most newly retireds–wanted to travel the world. But the problem was that we had three dogs. Boarding dogs is very expensive and would significantly add to the cost of our travels, so I had to find another way to deal with the dogs.
I came up with the idea of finding a college student who would want to live on the Westside and trade room and board for caring for our dogs. It was a fairly straightforward idea. As we live in Mandeville Canyon the obvious choice was a student from Mount Saint Mary’s College. We have empty bedrooms and too many dog chores; that was our side of the swap. The student would benefit by avoiding the arduous commute east on Sunset every night, but go home on the weekends. So I posted the position with the Commuter Services office at MSMC and waited for a call.
At first, no one called. Then one girl called and spoke in a tiny little soft voice. She said her name was Vashti and asked if she could come up to meet us to apply for the job. She came over with her entire family. They were wonderful people. Warm and supportive, they wanted Vashti to complete college and go on to medical school. We hired Vashti on the spot and wondered why no one else had called. It turned out that someone in Commuter Services knew how much Vashti loved dogs and so kept the position off the posting board. For us it was a match made in heaven.
Vashti lived in our daughter’s bedroom for four years. When she graduated, she turned us over to her friend, Vivian. And then from Vivian to Veronica. Yes, we do call them the “Three Vs†. As the school year starts we are looking for someone new, but we keep in touch with our three graduates. Last month we had the Three V’s over for dinner and we chatted about the experience of living in our house. For example, there really is no board. And one of the dogs smells really bad. And another one urinates inside the house on a fairly regular basis. All very funny stuff over a glass of wine.
And then the girls started to open up about their own feelings and the deeper issues in their lives. They spoke of the struggle to succeed at a rigorous college program and still maintain all their family obligations. None of this has to do with money or privilege. It is just the structure of their lives. Each one said that if they had not lived in our home they would not have graduated from MSMC. The commute was simply too horrible and their hours at school too long. But, more than that, we served as role models of a way of life that was achievable through hard work and determination.
So, I share this story with the Brentwood community in hopes that some of you will take advantage of this opportunity. It has been wonderful for us, and it is a real hand up to a young woman. If you want more information you can contact Farah in the Commuter Service office at MSMC. 310-954-4000.
