My name is Rose, and I am a nanny. I started working with children completely by accident when I thought I hated them; I was a freshman in college and had been assigned a Work Study job at the University Child Development Center. It only took my first day for me to realize I loved them. I ended up working there through undergrad and for another year after graduating with my vocal performance degree.
Last year around this time, I was employed by an extremely busy single mother of two little girls. As time went on, I was seeing them every evening during the week. I was making them dinner, taking them to the park, letting the dog out, helping with homework, playing hide-and-seek in the house, helping the youngest learn to use the potty, and helping the oldest learn to read. The girls had begun to make me art at school and say “I love you." I loved them, too, very much.
One Friday, I picked them up and brought them to their house as usual. Their mom arrived home from work earlier than usual. She told me she had adjusted her hours at work and the family would no longer need me. She handed me a check and wished me good luck. After being the exclusive caretaker of these little girls for over a year, I walked out the door and have not seen the children since.
Words cannot describe how hurt I felt.
I didn’t want to get out of bed or walk out my front door for several days. These children had become a part of me, and I don’t think I will ever understand why that series of events happened like it did. I did learn that attachment is powerful and can act as either a positive or a negative. I feel like I am definitely more cautious now about my jobs and how I approach involving myself in the lives of other people’s children.
I currently work on different assignments through a nanny agency, and I also pick up extra jobs from time to time as an independent sitter. My hours are part-time, and my duties are fairly unstructured. I love the flexibility of it during times when I’m busy with singing and creative work, but sometimes it is necessary for me to search for other opportunities to supplement my income. (Oh hey, bills.) I am vastly entertained by all the kids I get paid to hang out with at home and take on outings, and all the parents I’m working with right now are so understanding and diverse.
When children are your work, it makes you giggle a little more than the average person would when you’re out in public and people suppose they’re yours. I am honored to know that these little people trust me to make “boring stuff” fun and keep them safe at the same time. Additionally, the observations they make about their world give them some wisdom that can’t be described in any way other than off the charts. I could write an entire book of just quotes I have heard while babysitting. The brutality of kids’ honesty does not quit. I reflect a lot on how weird it is to end up where you end up, and I have an ever-evolving sense of who I am and what I want to do with my life. Do I want to be a nanny forever? No, but I would never trade the laughs I have had or relationships I have built as a nanny for anything else in the world.
