Housing Board

Hi! My name is Deirdre, and my husband died of cancer in the summer of 2025. I am raising our three little kids with the help of an au pair.

So this listing is less for a “room rental” and more me looking for someone who would actually want to be like part of a family–eating dinners together, coming to church with us, things like that. The rent is intentionally very low because helping with meals or tidying or yardwork or childcare would be a part of your contribution in lieu of rent. I don’t really need the money; I am interested in living with an awesome human who would help and behave as part of the family, reliably and hopefully for a long time. This listing is all about personality and lifestyle fit, and we’ll meet together and figure out details collaboratively. It’s also all about trust. I’ve gone through so much in the last few years.

The house is a large, high-end custom home in one of HR’s best neighborhoods. I’m just wrapping up a basement finishing project which will include a kitchen, large playroom, and even a sauna–as well as an additional bedroom which could be yours! Or there are two bedrooms on the upper level to choose from. Our current au pair is a wonderful young French woman whose room is on the main floor. She works 35 hours a week, and when not working she is generally either in her room (chatting with friends/family back home or working on her side hustle) or out with friends. Her term wraps up in October, so we’ll be matching with another au pair around/before then.

The three kids are ages 2, 4, and 6. They are so sweet and bright and generally well-behaved for their ages. The oldest (the only boy) is so responsible and helpful I actually worry that he’s taking on too much in the wake of daddy’s death.  But he’s also fun and silly and six. He loves his dirt bike and wearing costumes–actually they all love costumes. The middle is super spunky but she’s had real separation anxiety issues (also since daddy died). The youngest was the easiest baby ever born; she’s becoming slightly more of a handful as a toddler but still pretty easy and super cute and fun. (I’m looking forward to wrapping up the potty training phase though!) Family goals this year have included a lot more outdoor time and a lot less TV time, and I’ve seen their imaginations and ability to play together well really awaken as a result.

I have to keep a gluten-free and dairy-free diet for managing a heath condition, so we eat a lot of meat and veggies. (I’m pretty sure 30% of my calories are either from my kids’ leftovers or directly off of the floor so I try to feed them meals I can eat myself!) Our current au pair really enjoys cooking and makes a lot of the dinners these days, but no guarantees with the next one!

We are Christians and attend Mission Hills church. Raising our kids to have faith in Jesus is/was super important to me and my husband. They go to an amazing Christian school. It’s been hard to find an au pair who actually wants to attend church with us–they all check the “Christian” box on their profiles but in actual practice, well, no one’s been really on fire in their faith yet, despite what they say in interviews. Thus my openness to sort of another arrangement with a Denver Seminary person.

I’m not planning to replace the au pair with you, to be clear. Generally our au pairs (we’ve had 6 over the last 5 years) work 45 hours a week, and I’m planning to still have au pairs for the next few years, probably until all of the kids are in full-time school at least. I’m just trying to create more “buffer” in my life for the times our au pair isn’t working. I’ve been working so so so hard since my husband died that I haven’t even really had time to grieve; I’ve just stuffed it in a box and locked it with Stuff to Do.

If you’ve read this far and you’re interested in this arrangement, let me know! I’ll warn you, I’m going to be picky. Finding someone to live with me and my precious, impressionable and vulnerable children is, um, terrifying really. I’m deeply hesitant to post this at all. But, here we go.